Oklahoma State Health Department Updates Response To COVID-19

State leaders held a news conference on Wednesday to give the latest details on Oklahoma's response to COVID-19. 

The Oklahoma State Department of Health said the data collected over the holidays show a mix of 57 percent Omicron and 43 percent delta.

With the rise in cases, the department has increased access to testing through expanded hours and additional sites around the state.

Health experts said the Omicron variant is more contagious but also, less severe.

Oklahoma Health Experts said we are still in a pandemic and that reflects the state's response.

"As long as it continues to pose a threat and stress on our hospital systems, we'll remain in this pandemic phase," said Keith Reed. 

State Commissioner of Health Keith Reed said the Omicron variant is more transmissible, but we're seeing less severe cases and therefore, less of a strain on the medical system.

Reed said there's more breakthrough cases--about 30%, but of those patients, nearly 80% had not received their booster shot.

The Health Department said the state has seen an increase in hospitalizations overall but not as significant as surges we've seen in the past, with fewer patients admitted into the ICU.

Reed said before Omicron a third of patients were reported as having Covid as a secondary diagnosis.

The state is experiencing a shortage of at-home and rapid tests, which are not reported to the Public Health Lab, but plenty of tests are available through a provider network.

"I think it's also important to point out that the number of cases that we have out there is, obviously, underrepresented because we do have so many at-home tests. We need to look at hospitalizations as our primary metric of the impact of COVID" said Reed.

Health officials are asking folks who are simply seeking a COVID test to please look outside of the emergency room.

"PCR tests are typically available within 24 to 48 hours and provide the most accurate results, allow for variant sequencing and give us the ability to contact trace," said Dr. Gitanjali Pai, OSDH Chief Medical Officer.

Reed is concerned about the nationwide depleted supply of monoclonal antibody treatments and antiviral pills. Right now, Oklahoma is receiving very small weekly allocations of mono-clonal antibody treatments and is on a two-week allocation for anti-viral pills.

"The current supply in the state along with expected deliveries from the next cycle allocations are anticipated to be depleted this month," said Reed.

He said the state is allocating a small supply to each region to make sure all of Oklahoma has some access to this treatment. 

The department is working closely with the Governor's office and the White House Task Force to increase the state's treatment supply.

Reed said vaccinations are the best line of defense against COVID-19 since they help keep kids in school, adults working, and prevent the development of more mutations. 

https://oklahoma.gov/covid19.html