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Governor Kevin Stitt, Commissioner of Health Lance Frye and cabinet secretaries unveiled the new Oklahoma Pandemic Center for Innovation and Excellence (OPCIE) and the newly relocated Public Health Lab.

Gov. Stitt said this investment in public health, science and innovation will help Oklahoma become a top ten State. He said it'll make Oklahoma a national and global leader in pandemic preparedness, research and response to any future health crisis the country or State may face.

Gov. Stitt said he was happy to plant this flag before any other State in the Union; Oklahoma is the national research pandemic center. He said he believes the OPCIE will prove to be a huge economic driver in years to come.

It is also believed that the OPCIE is going to help Oklahoma attract the clinical and laboratory research talent that Gov. Stitt knows they can attract to the State. By partnering with the private sector, Gov. Stitt said they're going to be able to bring more research and development jobs to Oklahoma. He said the State is also going to be able to compete for federal research dollars.

Gov. Stitt said Oklahoma is going to go after grants from the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He said these groups are looking for a place to put those monies and partner with Oklahoma's great universities.

To view the entire unveiling of the new OPCIE, you can watch the video below.

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