OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Oklahomans have mixed opinions on President Biden's executive orders on vaccinations.
Oklahoma doctors have a list of concerns regarding the current COVID situation in our state.
With many hospitals at capacity, Dr. Woody Jenkins, an internal medicine physician from Stillwater, fears for the continuous staffing shortages.
"We have lost approximately a third of our ICU nurses, so we're working with less staff and having more patients," Dr. Jenkins said.
Along with fewer nurses, doctors are dealing with more extensive patient care.
"Overall our patients are younger and sicker than the last surge," Dr. Jenkins said. "The length of stays are longer, up to past 20 days, and some have been on the ventilators for over ten days."
Those who have been on the forefront of fighting the COVID variants have hope in Biden's recent orders.
The mandate states all employers with more than 100 works have to require their employees to get vaccinated or test for the virus weekly.
Dr. Mary Clarke, the President of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, stands by that order.
"If that's what it takes to keep our general population healthy, I personally don't have a problem having vaccine recommendations," Dr. Clarke said.
Other physicians agree, like Dr. Jean Hausheer, who said this order isn't any different than any law aiming to protect Americans.
"We have seatbelt laws, we also have don't drink and drive laws, and those are all very sensible," Dr. Hausheer said. "I think it just falls into the same category. And I sense that President Biden has done this because of so much of the difficulty we've encountered in healthcare with this very issue."
Doctors working in hospitals everyday also looked to their patients to form their opinions.
"Sometimes the proof is in the pudding," Dr. Jenkins said. "I can tell you our vaccination rate of inpatients at the hospital is very low. The people that are getting admitted and are the sickest are not vaccinated."
Physicians added that as more people die from the virus, they believe there will be more pressure to require vaccinations.
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