The CDC has advised that children take the COVID-19 vaccine before attending school. But that doesn’t mean it will be required for attendance as misinformation swirls around the ruling.
The CDC’s advisory is routine and simply means the federal agency recommends kids get the COVID-19 vaccine before attending school.
Required vaccines for school are ultimately determined by individual states. And a 2021 law in Oklahoma prohibits a coronavirus vaccine from being required for admittance to a school.
But that hasn’t stopped misinformation from spreading.
Attorney General John O’Connor signed onto a public letter of GOP Attorneys General opposing the CDC’s advisory. Last week, Governor Kevin Stitt put out a statement saying he would never require the COVID-19 vaccine to attend school.
It’s true, no vaccine for the coronavirus can be required to attend school. But no matter what, health officials and doctors advise getting one. The vaccine for COVID-19 has repeatedly been found to be safe and effective.
A new poll finds many Oklahomans are cutting back on spending due to inflation.
According to a poll by Amber Integrated of Oklahoma City, inflation has forced 60% of Oklahoma voters to cut spending on essentials like groceries and on discretionary items like travel. Only 17% of the 500 voters surveyed haven’t cut back their spending. The biggest percentages by age of people cutting back were those between 40 and 49 and those 70 and older.
Recent figures from the federal government show that the region that includes Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas has experienced higher inflation than the national average, despite the region’s traditionally lower cost of living.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has chosen a replacement District Attorney for Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties.
Adam Panter has been chosen to complete Allan Grubb’s term as DA of Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties.
Grubb resigned in August after the state’s multi-county grand jury accused him of neglect of duty, oppression, and corruption for using deferred prosecution agreements to make extra money for his office. His resignation took effect on Sept. 30.
Grubb would have been replaced by David Hammer, who won the GOP Primary in June, but he died shortly after the election.
Panter will complete Grubb’s term which would have ended in January. If reappointed, he could serve for four more years.
Four rehabbed river otters were released back into the wild last week.
WildCare Oklahoma, a wildlife rehabilitation facility in Noble, took in the otters when they were just weeks old. Three of the four are littermates, whose mother was killed in an equipment accident. A fourth abandoned otter pup joined a few weeks later, and animal care staff raised them for months, dreaming of this day. Hannah Altonji is the Animal Care Manager at WildCare.
"We’re just proud to see them all grown up and ready to go. As soon as we opened up those kennels, they knew exactly what to do."
And they did. Within minutes, the four otters were gliding and somersaulting with the current. Dr. Kyle Abbott says months of care have led up to this special day.
"This is what it is all about. We always have this goal at the very end in our minds," said Abbott.
As they made their way down the river, staff members hugged each other and watched in reverence. From abandoned, bottle-fed babies to rambunctious, healthy adolescents, these river otters will get to continue their journey in the wild.
Oklahoma City Public Schools and the Metropolitan Library System announced the arrival of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to Oklahoma County Monday.
The Imagination Library is a literacy-promoting program that provides participating kids with a book a month until they are five years old.
Parton said in a statement that she's excited to be working with Superintendent Joy Hofmeister and the Oklahoma State Department of Education to bring the Imagination Library to Oklahoma.
Families who reside in the OKCPS district can sign their children up at ImaginationLibrary.com.
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