State vaccination plan sees official update

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announced Wednesday that the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan has been updated, incorporating new federal recommendations for allocation to critical groups in Montana along with an estimated timeline for distribution.

Bullock said the first phase of the vaccine’s rollout is underway with front-line health care workers being vaccinated around the state, but people need to remain vigilant and look out for each other as the pandemic continues.

“It’s inspiring to see that thousands of health care workers have already been vaccinated and that it’s now reaching staff and residents of long-term care facilities,” Bullock said in a press release. “As we continue to focus on vaccinating those most vulnerable to this virus, it is incumbent on all of us to keep our friends, neighbors, and loved ones safe as we inch toward the widespread distribution of the vaccine.”

The estimated timeline released by the state says vaccines are not expected to be available to all Montanans until late spring or early summer 2021, after phase 1A, 1B, and 1C are completed.

Phase 1A, which is currently underway, includes front line health care workers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities and health care workers with direct patient contact or virus exposure.

Health care workers have been receiving the first doses of their vaccinations since Dec. 15 and all workers are expected to be vaccinated by Jan. 15, 2021.

Long-term care facility staff and residents have been receiving their first doses since Monday and all are expected to be complete by Feb. 26, 2021.

The timeline says Phase 1B will run from Jan. 15, 2021 through Mar. 15, 2021, and will include persons aged 75 years and older, Individuals residing in congregate care and correctional facilities and front line essential workers which covers first responders, education and all child care workers, critical infrastructure federal employees, food and agriculture, manufacturing, corrections workers, the US Postal Service, public transit workers, grocery store workers, child and adult protective service workers who are at risk for exposure, inspectors of congregate care facilities or like settings, critical infrastructure energy workers, critical infrastructure IT workers, and American Indians and other people of color who may be at elevated risk for COVID-19 complications.

A joint press release by Western Native Voice and We Are Montana, two organizations supporting COVID-19 relief efforts across the state, applauded the inclusion of Native American communities in Phase 1B.

The release said the pandemic has had a devastating impact on Montana’s tribal communities, with recent data showing that close to 30 percent of all COVID-19-related deaths in Montana are among American Indians despite that group only being 7 percent of the state’s population.

The release said the state heeded the call of local advocates and prioritized American Indians within the next phase of vaccine roll-out, to begin Jan. 15. 

The release credited Public Health Advisor to Western Native Voice Dr. Cora Neumann, a member of the Montana COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Coordination Team, in particular for bringing Western Native Voice’s priorities to the table and urging the state to expedite the timeline for communities hardest hit. 

“Since a state of emergency was declared in Montana in March, tribal governments and Native leaders have responded consistently and effectively to keep their communities safe,” Neumann, who is also founder of We Are Montana said. “Unfortunately, due to pre-existing health and socio-economic disparities among Native communities - and in some cases due to resistance to mask mandates and gathering limits in surrounding communities - Montana’s tribal communities have experienced devastating loss. I am grateful that our state has responded to our call to prioritize American Indians in Phase 1B.”

Phase 1C will run from Mar. 15 through Jul. 15 and will include persons aged 65 years and older, persons aged 16-64 with high-risk medical conditions, and essential workers which covers transportation and logistics, food service, shelter and housing construction, finance, IT and communication, energy, legal, media, public safety, water and wastewater, and essential government personnel.

Phase 2, which will include all Montanans 16 years or older, will begin in July and continue until everyone is vaccinated.

So far, the release says, 17,000 health care personnel in Montana have received their first vaccination dose, and Phase 1A has now been expanded to include additional health care workers with direct patient contact, such as dentists, orthodontists, physical therapists, optometrists, home health workers and others that fit the criteria.

The release from Bullock said vaccine shipments are entering Montana through state and federal allocations, with this week’s state allocation including 6,825 Pfizer and 6,400 Moderna doses that will be shipped to pharmacies assisting with long-term care facilities, hospitals, community health centers, local county and tribal health departments and others throughout the week.

200 providers have been enrolled to receive and administer vaccines, and more than 34,000 doses from the state allocation have been sent to 10 Montana hospitals in Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula, as well as 80 critical-access hospitals and community health centers.

All three tribal governments that chose to receive vaccine from the state allocation have also been sent doses.

Vaccinations are also occurring through the federal allocation to the Indian Health Service and Veterans’ Administration, the release said.