Over 5,800 deaths could've been avoided if all Oklahoma adults got a COVID-19 vaccine
Thousands of COVID-19 deaths could have been prevented in Oklahoma if more of the state’s residents had been vaccinated, a new analysis has found.
If Oklahoma had reached 100% vaccination of its adult population, more than 5,800 deaths could’ve been avoided. At 90% vaccinated, over 4,300 could have been prevented, and at 85%, 3,600 lives might have been spared, the analysis showed.
As the nation reached the staggering 1 million mark for the COVID-19 death toll this week, Oklahoma’s toll climbed over 16,000.
The analysis, done by researchers at Brown School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Microsoft AI for Health, looked at when each state saw its peak demand for COVID-19 vaccinations in spring 2021. Then, it imagined a future where that pace continued until 85, 90 or 100% of adults in the state were vaccinated.
Nationwide, over 318,000 COVID-19 deaths could've been avoided, the researchers found.
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Dr. David Holden, the president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, said the findings underscore how effective COVID-19 vaccines were and still are.
“We have a population now that really has had no experience with any type of disease process like this. Some of us who've been around for a long time, recognize what these diseases have done in the past and recognize the power of vaccination,” Holden said. “But what’s striking at this point is one, the number of deaths could have been prevented, and how some states have more difficulties than others.”
Oklahoma had the fifth-largest share of vaccine-preventable deaths by population compared with other states, behind West Virginia, Wyoming, Tennessee and Kentucky, when looking at how many deaths could’ve been prevented by 100% vaccination rates.
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A 100% vaccination rate isn’t realistic, Holden said, but Oklahoma should strive for a rate as high as possible.
About 58% of the state’s total population is considered fully vaccinated. For just adults, just under 69% are fully vaccinated in Oklahoma.
“We're not out of the woods,” Holden said. “This is a disease that can transform itself, as we saw with the delta variant. … We're just one mutation away from being back in the soup with another variant.”
Oklahoma saw peak demand for COVID-19 vaccines from late February into early April 2021, sometimes recording upward of 30,000 or 40,000 doses a day, according to data from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention. From there, the pace slowed significantly into the summer.
New COVID-19 variants, new age groups becoming eligible and boosters being available have resulted in bumps in vaccine demand in the past year, but demand — especially for first doses — has fallen considerably.
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The state Health Department called the loss of life in Oklahoma and around the world from COVID-19 tragic.
“Unlike at the beginning of the pandemic, we now have tools, including vaccines, that we know work in protecting against severe illness,” the department said. “We know that getting the COVID-19 vaccine provides a heightened protection against someone becoming hospitalized or dying from COVID.”
COVID-19 vaccines are in ample supply across Oklahoma, and first, second and booster doses are available to much of the population. To find a vaccine appointment near you, go to vaccinate.oklahoma.gov or vaccines.gov.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: COVID-19 vaccines could have saved over 5,800 lives in Oklahoma
