Twenty-one Republican state lawmakers are requesting the Oklahoma attorney general investigate the state’s COVID-19 response and hospital protocols during the pandemic. A spokesperson for Attorney General Gentner Drummond said this is not the first request to cross his desk.
A letter, sent last week, was written on behalf of constituents who lost loved ones during the pandemic. Rep. Molly Jenkins (R-Coyle), who signed it, said they want answers, and she believes it’s the job of state lawmakers to seek them.
“It really shook the people in my district to the core,” Jenkins said. “And it’s amazing, here it is, five years later, and we’re still talking about COVID, and we still want answers for what happened in our state.”
The attorney general spokesperson said in an email the office had received a similar lawmaker request earlier this year. It found “no factual or legal basis to support criminal charges.”
“But that will not preclude a thorough review of this request,” the spokesperson said. “We take seriously the concerns that have been shared with our office. Our response will be based on the laws in place at that time and guided by the facts and evidence presented, as it is with all requests we receive.”
This effort is being led by Sen. Randy Grellner (R-Cushing), who also works as a primary care doctor. The letter itself does not identify particular hospitals or patients, but Grellner said there are specific concerns.
One is that he thinks Oklahoma could have better explored early treatment with unconventional drugs, like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.
“There were a lot of people that used them, but I think that was something that was just a hard no for most people, and I think that potentially caused a lot of potential deaths,” Grellner said. “I think we have to, when you're in a pandemic situation, we have to be able to think out of the box. And those options were not allowed by a lot of health care systems.”
Hydroxychloroquine – which is used to treat lupus and malaria – was touted by President Donald Trump as a way to treat COVID-19. The FDA deemed it ineffective for treating or preventing COVID-19 after briefly approving an emergency use authorization to use it to treat the disease in certain hospitalized patients.
Oklahoma had secured $2 million of hydroxychloroquine. Records obtained by Oklahoma Watch show the state later entered into an agreement with the drug wholesaler to return the supply of the drug for a refund.
Ivermectin is used to treat several conditions in animals, like heartworms and other parasites, and in humans, including some parasitic worms and external parasites like lice. It was supported by some groups as a treatment for COVID-19. But the FDA determined currently available clinical trial data do not demonstrate effectiveness against COVID-19 in humans.
Grellner also alleged that people were treated differently at facilities based on whether they were vaccinated against COVID-19.
“When they would show up in the ER, sicker than a dog, the first question [they were asked was], ‘Did you take the vaccine?’ And they said no, and they were treated as second-class citizens.”
StateImpact reached out to the Oklahoma Hospital Association on the letter. It declined to comment.
The letter requests the attorney general review the concerns and determine if state laws were violated or if actions taken during this period crossed the line of proper authority.
“I don't think we've ever squared this pandemic from the standpoint of what we did right and what we did wrong,” Grellner said.
Grellner said he understands people might disagree with him, but he believes in medical freedom and that people should be treated appropriately, “whether they desire to follow recommendations or not.”
He said he hopes this effort will help ensure the state “does not repeat the same mistakes in future pandemics.”
“My hopes would be this: if we have another pandemic … that we learn the lessons of not locking down society, not shutting down our schools, and understanding that people are going to have different philosophies on what they want to do with this disease, as far as the patient – our constituents – and that they ought to be able to do, they ought to be able to follow what they feel is best for them,” Grellner said.
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