Chief Gary Batton and Oklahoma Commissioner of Health Terry Kline sign a Memorandum of Understanding to initiate a joint effort to protect the health of southeastern Oklahomans with free flu vaccinations.
Tribe and State Cooperate to Supply Free Flu Vaccinations
By Brandon Frye
Choctaw Nation
Durant, Okla. - The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) and the State of Oklahoma signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Aug. 20, marking the beginning of a joint effort to protect the health and welfare of all citizens within the 10.5 counties of the Choctaw Nation.
Chief Gary Batton and Oklahoma Commissioner of Health Terry Kline sat down to sign the form, making official the arrangement between CNO and the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), wherein the CNO supplies influenza vaccinations and the state-run local health departments administer the vaccinations to citizens.
The vaccinations will be available to any person, whether a tribal member or a non-tribal member, and without any cost to them.
“I do have a strong belief in community health and public health,” Chief Batton said. “We can’t let one person be sick and everyone else be healthy. That one person will eventually affect everybody else.”
The county health departments will distribute the vaccinations to schools, businesses, community centers, and other appropriate venues within the Choctaw Nation.
Kline said, “When we look at vaccinations, you’d be hard pressed to find any healthcare intervention in a community that would offer more protection for its members.”
The MOU article cited two circumstances which prompted the agreement, including a steady increase in influenza and influenza-like illnesses in recent years within southeastern Oklahoma; as well as the resulting economic burden on the area due to health care costs and reduced productivity.
For the 2014-2015 flu season, OSDH reported 2,299 cumulative influenza-caused hospitalizations and/or deaths in Oklahoma. In the same time, they reported 109 hospitalizations and two deaths caused by influenza within the 10.5 counties of the Choctaw Nation.
According to the MOU’s official arrangement, the tribe and the local county health departments believe the two parties can have a significant impact on reducing the incidence rate of influenza and influenza-like illnesses, not only within the Choctaw Nation, but throughout the entire state.
“The Choctaw Nation will continue with their normal efforts as we administer flu vaccines, and the state will go out and get more individuals,” said Teresa Jackson, Senior Executive Officer over Health Services for CNO. “Our goal is to keep schools and businesses from closing, and to reduce the number of hospitalizations in Oklahoma due to the flu.”