OKLAHOMA CITY –– The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and CDC have cleared the way to expand booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 12 to 15. This decision was made following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s authorization to expand booster doses to this age group, earlier this week.

OKLAHOMA CITY ––Variant sequencing at the OSDH Public Health (PHL) lab of most recent specimens from over the holidays shows a mix of omicron (57%) and delta (43%). This surveillance data is important to providers and the public to understand what is going on in the state.

Speaking at a White House event focused on competition in agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland expressed their shared commitment to effectively enforcing federal competition laws that protect farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers and growers from unfair and anticompetitive practices, including the antitrust laws and the Packers and Stockyards Act. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Justice are already working together to support their respective enforcement efforts under these laws. As one step in that continuing process, today they released the following statement of principles and commitments:

The Kiamichi Conservation District has announced that funds are available for cost-share assistance on selected conservation practices benefiting conservation. The State of Oklahoma has provided limited funds to our conservation district to help landowners implement measures that will help conservation.

Have you ever made an enemy? Someone who not only detests you, but actually would love to see the ground open up and swallow you. While they laugh and annihilate everything that used to be yours.

The Southeast Oklahoma Library System (SEOLS) announces its newest resource, The Library of Things! The Library of Things is a collection of non-traditional library items that complement SEOLS mission to be a place where people can explore yesterday’s heritage, today’s information and tomorrow’s dreams. “This is an exciting addition that will connect patrons with non-traditional library items,” SE-OLS Marketing Manager Eddie Gray said.

Two weeks ago American health officials began reporting the movement of the China Omicron COVID virus variant into the U.S. primarily from Europe. They said it was hitting the East Coast and that from early indications... it was both hard-hitting and fast-moving.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. George Burns has filed Senate Bill 1167, the “Every Mother Matters Act,” also known as EMMA. The legislation is aimed at ensuring that any woman seeking an abortion is given access to resources and programs she may not realize are available. Burns, R-Pollard, said the goal is to give women the support they need to choose life, instead of abortion.

I am encouraging high school juniors and seniors from my House district to apply for the High School Page Program with the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Every year, hundreds of students from across the state have the opportunity to take part in the Page Program at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City.

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