A third COVID-19 vaccine could become available by the end of next month.

It comes as 48 more Oklahomans have died of COVID-19, including nine in Tulsa County.

Nearly 2,800 more Oklahomans have tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours.

The new vaccine is by Johnson & Johnson and they said they will apply for emergency use authorization next month.

The company announced Friday its vaccine is 85 percent effective overall in preventing severe disease, but less effective when tested against other variants in other parts of the world.

OU's Chief of Infectious Disease Dr. Doug Drevets said he recommends all Oklahomans to get any vaccine they can when its available to them, but he said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has some advantages.

He said it has a longer shelf life when thawed, requires only one dose and since it uses different technology, offers more protection over time.

Oklahoma also received praise from the White House today as the state is one of seven to already vaccinate 10 percent of the population.

Dr. Drevets said because of that and our high case counts earlier in the pandemic, Oklahoma could have herd immunity faster than other areas of the country.

"I think we will be ahead of many other states in terms of finding that magic number, the so called herd immunity,” said Dr. Drevets. “Where it’s harder and harder for the virus to find somebody to infect and then we will start seeing the cases really dropping significantly."

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine could be in Oklahoma by the end of February.