If you use the CDC number for deaths, Oklahoma would be #15 in deaths per capita due to Covid-19.

We are #8 in infections per capita.

That being said, other states could also be doing the same thing with their reporting.

Please allow me to vent.

Recap: Mom tested positive and was symptomatic a few weeks ago. The nursing home sent her to Mercy. Mercy released her to a rehab facility after a week or so.

Currently: Rehab called saying mom is now incapable of doing anything for herself. Barely coherent. And there's no expectation of improvement so she needs to go back to the nursing home. She was in the minimal care wing before Covid. She'll be going back to the maximum care wing. I've been in there and I hate this necessity. And, of course, we still can't see her. Hopefully at least that might change soon.

So, and I know there aren't many if any on this board so I don't mean you. But for those out there that still think the virus, masks, distancing, other precautions and the vaccines are a joke, fake or some conspiracy I can't say on a public board what I think of your opinions and I try not to even use such language but I really want to right now.

I'm with you on that that many people think the masks and social distancing is a joke. I had to go to two stores and at the check out since I was social distancing like I am suppose to, the jerks picked up my stuff from the check out and moved it some place else and tried to put their stuff down. At one of the stores I was trying to swipe my card, the clerk stepped back and since they were not items that needed bagging the jerk picked them up and carried them off to another place. The clerk was telling him I was swiping my card to pay. What is it with these people? Its seems that no one has common respect or patience anymore.

I'm with you on that that many people think the masks and social distancing is a joke. I had to go to two stores and at the check out since I was social distancing like I am suppose to, the jerks picked up my stuff from the check out and moved it some place else and tried to put their stuff down. At one of the stores I was trying to swipe my card, the clerk stepped back and since they were not items that needed bagging the jerk picked them up and carried them off to another place. The clerk was telling him I was swiping my card to pay. What is it with these people? Its seems that no one has common respect or patience anymore.

I have now had the first of two Pfizer vaccinations, but my position on entering businesses has not changed, and probably won't even after I have the second shot (at least until my wife is vaccinated). Here is my position on businesses akin to what you reference:

I will not patronize ANY business that does not minimally to the best of their ability enforce OKC's mask ordinance. I do want to know which businesses are which, because I will continue to not patronize them after this is "all over."

No, I will not spend $$$ in an establishment that doesn't care if my wife or parents get sick and die. I know, it's a very high bar to clear.

I have now had the first of two Pfizer vaccinations, but my position on entering businesses has not changed, and probably won't even after I have the second shot (at least until my wife is vaccinated). Here is my position on businesses akin to what you reference:

I will not patronize ANY business that does not minimally to the best of their ability enforce OKC's mask ordinance. I do want to know which businesses are which, because I will continue to not patronize them after this is "all over."

No, I will not spend $$$ in an establishment that doesn't care if my wife or parents get sick and die. I know, it's a very high bar to clear.
I'm with you!

Heard on the news that the City Council has extending the mask mandate until April 30 on today's agenda. Should be a no brainer. I wish they'd just go ahead and make it something like August 31.

It was reported at City Council this morning that 24% (!!!) of Oklahoma City has received at least one vaccine dose so far. That is fantastic and better than I thought we'd be doing. My home county in NJ is at a whopping 9%.

Relatedly, I was able to get a vaccine appointment for next week through the Chickasaw Nation and I'm so excited! It would have been months otherwise. They've done so well vaccinating tribal members that they've opened up to educators (at all levels, not just K-12) and their families regardless of tribal membership. What an amazing community effort that we should all feel very gracious for. I've also heard of other tribes giving out doses without precondition once their appointments/obligated doses have filled up. Might explain in part why Oklahoma is doing so well vaccinating so far.

Only 111 new cases today; 7-day rolling average down to 684.

56 additional deaths; 7-day rolling average an all-time high at 43.9.

Hospitalizations are 447 (-37).

ICU is 134 (-16).

Only 111 new cases today; 7-day rolling average down to 684.

56 additional deaths; 7-day rolling average an all-time high at 43.9.

Hospitalizations are 447 (-37).

ICU is 134 (-16).

Well looks like the freeze keeping many home and everything closed for a few days paid off

Well looks like the freeze keeping many home and everything closed for a few days paid offThat was my first thought. But then I looked at the US and Oklahoma new case graphs with 7 day average and average lines are very similar. The whole country wasn't in the deep freeze so while that was definitely a factor here there's something else affecting the new case numbers nationwide.

That was my first thought. But then I looked at the US and Oklahoma new case graphs with 7 day average and average lines are very similar. The whole country wasn't in the deep freeze so while that was definitely a factor here there's something else affecting the new case numbers nationwide.

I was kinda joking because people said the rush to stores would cause a spike.

I think we have vaccines doing their job as well as a large portion of population with known or unknown antibodies that we are probably much closer to herd immunity for the existing stains than we hear from news about
I guarantee that more have had virus than realize.

City Council voted today to extend the mask ordinance through April 30th.

The way things are going, that may be the last extension.

City Council voted today to extend the mask ordinance through April 30th.

The way things are going, that may be the last extension.
Hopefully another extension won't be needed. But if things slow down or worse I hope they have the cajones to extend it further.

Meanwhile, to our south, Texas just opened up everything back to 100% capacity starting next Wednesday, even though they're 48th in vaccines/capita.

I hope we can at least make it to the end of this month before our governor tries to follow suit.

Meanwhile, to our south, Texas just opened up everything back to 100% capacity starting next Wednesday, even though they're 48th in vaccines/capita.

I hope we can at least make it to the end of this month before our governor tries to follow suit.

And if we still see Texas numbers decline than we know its pretty much over at least for the winter season, but continued vaccinations over the summer should prevent another winter resurgence hopefully.

Meanwhile, to our south, Texas just opened up everything back to 100% capacity starting next Wednesday, even though they're 48th in vaccines/capita.

I hope we can at least make it to the end of this month before our governor tries to follow suit.

Isn't that already the case? We have no state level restrictions in place, that I'm aware of. It's all at the local level.

Isn't that already the case? We have no state level restrictions in place, that I'm aware of. It's all at the local level.

We never had a state level policy so they are just catching up to us. But also they are way behind us on vaccinations so I feel better about Oklahoma not having a policy than them.

Looks like Mississippi is following Texas' lead. Hopefully more states don't jump in and do this, because this is the type of stuff that could lead to another surge if done too early.

And Biden just a few minutes ago said that there will be enough vaccines for every adult in the US by May.

May! We're so close! And given the rates of people who don't want the vaccine, we'll probably hit the inflection point between supply and demand sometime in the middle of next month.

^^ I was about to come here and comment about that. I wonder if announcing that we'll have so many vaccines available by May is helping to drive some of this renewed urge to reopen?

Only 111 new cases today; 7-day rolling average down to 684.

56 additional deaths; 7-day rolling average an all-time high at 43.9.

Hospitalizations are 447 (-37).

ICU is 134 (-16).


So positive tests are dropping, but deaths are at an all time high? There seems to be a lot of changing variables in this data, making the data difficult.

The gentleman (or lady) that makes the graphs, could you make a graph showing Christmas, the change in the PCR test, the ice storm ECT? Maybe we can make more sense of this data if it is graphed.

Deaths are increasing because of the backlog from the winter peak. Something like 50% of today's deaths occurred in or before January, they're just being finally correctly tabulated now. Hospitalizations and positivity rate are the most consistent metrics to look at (and they're all showing good news as of now).

Texas with no more mask mandate and 100% open starting March 10th

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/mask-mandate-ends-business-open-15994001.php

Only 111 new cases today; 7-day rolling average down to 684.

56 additional deaths; 7-day rolling average an all-time high at 43.9.

Hospitalizations are 447 (-37).

ICU is 134 (-16).

As a total amateur web sleuth, it seems like the CDC death numbers were right and Oklahoma is just slow-walking the reporting for PR reasons or to avoid shutdowns. Clearly most of these deaths were from January.

At this point. Posting the death counts is just adding fear to those who are very afraid of this virus. The death totals making news aren’t true representation of current situation and provide no meaning to the every day person but just scares people.

Deaths are increasing because of the backlog from the winter peak. Something like 50% of today's deaths occurred in or before January, they're just being finally correctly tabulated now. Hospitalizations and positivity rate are the most consistent metrics to look at (and they're all showing good news as of now).

I think we now know why the CDC is reporting 2,000 more deaths than the state. It appears the state was slow walking the release of deaths. They didn't want to announce what was really happening: close to 100 deaths or more per day.

I think we now know why the CDC is reporting 2,000 more deaths than the state. It appears the state was slow walking the release of deaths. They didn't want to announce what was really happening: close to 100 deaths or more per day.

This is not at all the reason behind the difference in the numbers. You could make an honest attempt to understand it rather than immediately dive into a political conspiracy theory. The reason for the difference is due to a long standing (read: long before COVID) methodology for investigating and confirming cause of death and the surge putting strain on investigative resources. The Oklahoma State Department of Health has a much more thorough process for investigating cause of death and reporting it than does the CDC and they are relying on older systems for reporting. You can agree with it or hate it, but it doesn’t mean it’s due to a PR conspiracy. This has all been reported multiple times, by the way—most recently by Paul Monies of Oklahoma Watch—so just a bit of effort to understand could go a long way. OSDH has been very open about the fact they believe the numbers will ultimately catch up or be close to the CDC’s once their process is completed, by the way.

At this point. Posting the death counts is just adding fear to those who are very afraid of this virus. The death totals making news aren’t true representation of current situation and provide no meaning to the every day person but just scares people.

If we've learned anything during this pandemic it's that leaders need to always be transparent with information, provide context, and offer clear implications for people's lives. There's a lot of sociological evidence that withholding information actually creates more fear and uncertainty, not reporting accurate information. Or put another way, tell the truth.

And Biden just a few minutes ago said that there will be enough vaccines for every adult in the US by May.

May! We're so close! And given the rates of people who don't want the vaccine, we'll probably hit the inflection point between supply and demand sometime in the middle of next month.
To think that last summer there were soooooo many people saying a vaccine couldn't possibly come out before this summer.

If we've learned anything during this pandemic it's that leaders need to always be transparent with information, provide context, and offer clear implications for people's lives. There's a lot of sociological evidence that withholding information actually creates more fear and uncertainty, not reporting accurate information. Or put another way, tell the truth.
Tell the truth and be accurate. It would be so extremely easy for the OSDH to post a graph daily with newly reported deaths plugged in to the day they occurred instead of just reporting X number of deaths when they occurred over weeks or months.

If we've learned anything during this pandemic it's that leaders need to always be transparent with information, provide context, and offer clear implications for people's lives. There's a lot of sociological evidence that withholding information actually creates more fear and uncertainty, not reporting accurate information. Or put another way, tell the truth.

Also leaders need to practice what they preach. Good for thee not for me kills the message.

Only 111 new cases today; 7-day rolling average down to 684.

56 additional deaths; 7-day rolling average an all-time high at 43.9.

Hospitalizations are 447 (-37).

ICU is 134 (-16).Just looked and saw that there were 16,570 test results reported. And only 111 new cases. Very encouraging!

After only 111 cases yesterday, 747 today. 7-day rolling average 677.

No additional reported deaths.

Hospitalizations are 427 (-20).

ICU is 135 (+1).

This is not at all the reason behind the difference in the numbers. You could make an honest attempt to understand it rather than immediately dive into a political conspiracy theory. The reason for the difference is due to a long standing (read: long before COVID) methodology for investigating and confirming cause of death and the surge putting strain on investigative resources. The Oklahoma State Department of Health has a much more thorough process for investigating cause of death and reporting it than does the CDC and they are relying on older systems for reporting. You can agree with it or hate it, but it doesn’t mean it’s due to a PR conspiracy. This has all been reported multiple times, by the way—most recently by Paul Monies of Oklahoma Watch—so just a bit of effort to understand could go a long way. OSDH has been very open about the fact they believe the numbers will ultimately catch up or be close to the CDC’s once their process is completed, by the way.

I understand the process, and I understand it's a bit conspiratorial, but of the 56 deaths announced yesterday, only 2 were from February, and 26 from January. That means that half of those deaths were from November or before. I understand the process of investigation takes a while, but several months?

We know that the Stitt administration has done all sorts of things to fudge the data.

The timing of this lag in reporting coincided with the massive uptick in cases and hospitalizations. If the deaths were being reported on a timely basis, say, two to three weeks after the actual deaths, we would have been seeing as many as 100 Oklahomans a day die.

So you can dress me down all you want but waiting months for a death announcement is fishy to say the least.

We are also the highest state difference in death numbers from our own and the CDCs. So clearly we are doing it wrong.

OSDH is now showing the CDC numbers on their report: https://twitter.com/KassieMcClung/status/1367181112628441089?s=20

I understand the process, and I understand it's a bit conspiratorial, but of the 56 deaths announced yesterday, only 2 were from February, and 26 from January. That means that half of those deaths were from November or before. I understand the process of investigation takes a while, but several months?

We know that the Stitt administration has done all sorts of things to fudge the data.

The timing of this lag in reporting coincided with the massive uptick in cases and hospitalizations. If the deaths were being reported on a timely basis, say, two to three weeks after the actual deaths, we would have been seeing as many as 100 Oklahomans a day die.

So you can dress me down all you want but waiting months for a death announcement is fishy to say the least.

Appreciate the response. I’m “dressing you down” because it is conspiracy that’s not based on fact and it foments distrust in the system at a time when we need confidence in the system. We’re dealing with this BS from people on election integrity; we don’t need it here on this issue.

You may think it’s “fishy” but you also outright implied it was an intentional PR conspiracy to mislead people. That’s why I responded. It’s not fishy and it’s not a conspiracy. The process OSDH uses is based on systems they used long before COVID. There is no doubt it could be done better, but they have publicly acknowledged this repeatedly and have been entirely transparent that they believe the numbers will come close to the CDC’s. They’ve been working on improvements for a long time, but when you have severely strained resources, it takes time.

So again, you can hate the process—again, a process that was in place long before COVID—and there are good arguments to be made that it should be better in a lot of ways, but none of that means the people doing the hard, thankless work to get the data right are doing it because they’re part of a conspiracy to trick the public for PR reasons.

As my old friend Ted Lasso says, be curious, not judgmental. Try to understand why things are the way they are before advancing arguments intended to undermine people’s confidence in our system, which, by the way, is actually doing quite an amazing job.

^

It's a funny thing about discussion forums and the internet in general... All opinions are often regarded equally.

But on certain subjects, there are always experts and insiders who just simply know more.

On this subject, King183 knows. And I for one really appreciate the information and insight.

Appreciate the information king183!

At the least this needs to show the OSDH that their investigation/reporting system in antiquated and broken. Hopefully it will get a much needed modernization.

^

It's a funny thing about discussion forums and the internet in general... All opinions are often regarded equally.

But on certain subjects, there are always experts and insiders who just simply know more.

On this subject, King183 knows. And I for one really appreciate the information and insight.

Well now, suddenly, the Oklahoma "experts" have decided to report the CDC numbers, instead of their own. So now they are saying there are more than 7,000 Covid deaths in Oklahoma! That is a major, major difference.

They went from being a matter of weeks behind in reporting deaths to months. Why?

Either way, they were not reporting the scope of the death toll to the public. How many people have said, "Oklahoma is doing really great on deaths!" I've seen it here. I've seen it stated by the governor.

Now we know the state just wasn't reporting more than 2,500 deaths that had occurred over the last three months or more. That stinks to high heaven.

And, to King, I absolutely abhor conspiracy theories, and I appreciate your insider knowledge. Pardon me for not knowing that you had access to that as I don't know you.

Again, more than a third of Oklahoma's deaths were not reported to the public. Conspiracy or not, that is an outrage.

On edit: I agree we don't need people second-guessing the numbers as they did voting systems, but when you suddenly announce, "Hey, here's an additional 2,500 we didn't report" I don't think that is going to engender any kind of trust in the system.

Texas with no more mask mandate and 100% open starting March 10th

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/mask-mandate-ends-business-open-15994001.php

The ole "taking off the parachute before you land" strategy.

Abbott won't rest until he gets a variant named after him.

Mayor Holt posted that okc is down to 178 in the hospital. Lowest since September 1
Also means we dropped over 60% in a month.

St. Patrick's Day is coming up.

Hopefully we don't see a spike afterward.

No college spring breaks this year so I imagine the bars for st patty's in Norman are going to be FULL

895 new cases today, the most in 10 days. 7-day rolling average 641.

0 additional deaths reported for the 2nd day in a row.

Hospitalizations are 404 (-23).

ICU is 118 (-17).

Positivity rate is at 5%. Still good news there.

I believe the reason they have not shown additional deaths over the last 2 days is that they are now working towards reconciling the numbers with the CDC.

In fact, they are now showing the total CDC death count as "provisional" and at 7,122; the last reported number through the state was 4,534.

No college spring breaks this year so I imagine the bars for st patty's in Norman are going to be FULL
Why would Norman bars be packed?

I believe the reason they have not shown additional deaths over the last 2 days is that they are now working towards reconciling the numbers with the CDC.

In fact, they are now showing the total CDC death count as "provisional" and at 7,122; the last reported number through the state was 4,534.
The numbers starting when they do post them again could be interesting. And one more hurdle in trying to see trends.

Why would Norman bars be packed?

Usually St Pattys day is during spring break so all the college students are gone. O'Connells has a very large St. Pattys day tradition.

Usually St Pattys day is during spring break so all the college students are gone. O'Connells has a very large St. Pattys day tradition.
I'm pretty sure OU isn't holding in person classes. Am I wrong?

I'm pretty sure OU isn't holding in person classes. Am I wrong?

Some in-person classes are being held. It's kind of a hybrid model.

895 new cases today, the most in 10 days. 7-day rolling average 641.

0 additional deaths reported for the 2nd day in a row.

Hospitalizations are 404 (-23).

ICU is 118 (-17).

The Oklahoman announced 87 new deaths with a total of 7122. One can only imagine what daily numbers truly looked like over the last few months, but we will never know.

St. Patrick's Day is coming up.

Hopefully we don't see a spike afterward.

How do encourage people to hold St. Patrick's Day events OUTDOORS? Many often use parking lots anyway. They really need to close the indoor spaces and make them all outdoor events.

Some in-person classes are being held. It's kind of a hybrid model.

I'm at the University of North Texas and we've gone almost completely online since the pandemic started. We just announced we'll be back in person in the fall, which should work (as long as people get the vaccine!). But, a lot of OU professors have been forced to teach in person from my understanding. I'm glad my university handled it better than OU as I've generally been supported. I basically haven't been on campus in a year, but I'm excited to return soon.

How do encourage people to hold St. Patrick's Day events OUTDOORS? Many often use parking lots anyway. They really need to close the indoor spaces and make them all outdoor events.
Where is that like button?

I'm pretty sure OU isn't holding in person classes. Am I wrong?

A good amount are in person. Campus is packed as usual and all the bars on campus corner are usually busy with lines out the door.

I'm at the University of North Texas and we've gone almost completely online since the pandemic started. We just announced we'll be back in person in the fall, which should work (as long as people get the vaccine!). But, a lot of OU professors have been forced to teach in person from my understanding. I'm glad my university handled it better than OU as I've generally been supported. I basically haven't been on campus in a year, but I'm excited to return soon.

OU faculty could ask to only teach online and it was granted. I believe all who asked got it granted. So far OU has said no one has tested positive from COVID do to in class but I am also not sure how they could know that honestly.

Students wear masks at all times in classes and on campus. What they do off campus is probably not follow those rules based on what I have seen.

A good amount are in person. Campus is packed as usual and all the bars on campus corner are usually busy with lines out the door.
Ok. I thought it was more distance and less in person. I've learned something.

OU faculty could ask to only teach online and it was granted. I believe all who asked got it granted. So far OU has said no one has tested positive from COVID do to in class but I am also not sure how they could know that honestly.

Students wear masks at all times in classes and on campus. What they do off campus is probably not follow those rules based on what I have seen.When I was that age there were no rules as far as we were concerned.