Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said he isn't currently planning on getting a booster shot of a COVID vaccine because he's healthy and his doctor hasn't told him he needs one.
Stitt, the first governor in the nation to confirm contracting COVID when he tested positive in July 2020, received a dose of the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine in March before being asked by a reporter on Monday whether he plans on receiving a booster shot.
"No, probably not," Stitt said, according to the Associated Press. "I'm perfectly healthy, and my doctor hasn't told me I need to get it."
Stitt's remarks come just over a week after former President Donald Trump was booed at a conservative event in Dallas for telling former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly that he was fully vaccinated and had received a booster shot, and O'Reilly said he had received one as well.
In September, Trump told The Wall Street Journal he likely wouldn't get a booster shot once they were available.
"I feel like I'm in good shape from that standpoint," Trump said to The Wall Street Journal. "I'll look at stuff later on. I'm not against it, but it's probably not for me."
Stitt's comments also contrast with the public sentiment being shared by federal health officials, as well as officials in his own state, who are encouraging unvaccinated people to get a shot and emphasizing the benefits of a booster shot, mainly that it can provide additional protection to the Delta and Omicron variants.
"The best way to gather with confidence and protect against severe illness is to get vaccinated and get your booster shot," Interim Health Commissioner Keith Reed said in a statement last week. "Eligible, unvaccinated individuals should consider getting the vaccine as quickly as possible and fully vaccinated individuals who have not yet gotten a booster shot should seek that out."
Both Moderna and Pfizer have said that booster shots of their COVID-19 vaccines appear to offer protection against the new strain, which preliminary evidence suggests can better evade vaccines than previous variants.
Stitt got vaccinated in March after health officials opened vaccine eligibility to everyone in the state ages 16 and older. At the time, he said he hoped that receiving his shot publicly would encourage people who might be hesitant to get vaccinated.
Only about 53% of Oklahomans are fully vaccinated, which is well below the national average of 61.8% and far behind Vermont's first-in-the-nation rate of 77.3%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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