Gianforte calls on Biden to increase Montana vaccine allocation

Gov. Greg Gianforte said the state's vaccination rollout is going well despite being held back by the allocation size of the federal government.

At a press conference last Friday Gianforte said nearly 100,000 vaccines had been administered in the state and a almost 25,000 people have been fully immunized.

He said this is good news but the current allocation from the federal government is insufficient, being one of the lowest allocations per capita among the 50 states.

He said he believes Montana deserves a larger allocation by virtue of its effective vaccine rollout when compared to other states.

"I believe good behavior should be rewarded, not penalized," he said.

Gianforte said his administration has polled hospitals and public health officials who said they could effectively distribute at least twice what they are currently getting.

He said he sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for a larger allocation but he hasen't heard back yet.

COVID-19 Task Force Director Maj. General Matthew Quinn said he isn't sure how the federal government makes decisions about the size of vaccine allocations by state.

State Medical Officer Greg Holzman said the rollout of the vaccine is bringing the end of the pandemic closer and closer.

"We can now see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

He agreed that the state isn't getting enough vaccine but he suspects the allocation will increase in the near future, especially with Johnson & Johnson recently submitting data for their vaccine to the Food and Drug Administration for potential emergency authorization.

He said counties in the state are making uneven progress on vaccine distribution with some moving through Phase 1B faster than others, but the sad fact is that not everyone in 1B will be able to get the vaccine next week because the state's supply just isn't there.

He said people confused about how to get put on the waiting list in their respective counties should go to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services website, at https://dphhs.mt.gov, which has a button leading to an interactive map with a contact list for local vaccine distributors.

Gianforte also talked about the state's COVID-19 numbers and said active hospitalizations in the state continue to decline, which he credited to business owners citizens, and public health alike.

"This didn't happen by accident," he said. "It was the result of Montanans' common-sense precautions keeping those around them safe. It's a product of our small businesses following industry best practices and public health guidelines. And it's a product of the work of public health protecting the most vulnerable among us."

Holzman said people must continue to be proactive in their efforts to protect themselves and others by wearing masks, socially distancing, avoiding crowds, and generally following the public health guidelines that have been talked about for the last year.

Gianforte said it's important that Montanans pull together and address the pandemic as one community.

He said businesses need legal protection from lawsuits for transmission that happens in their establishments before he repeals the mask mandate entirely.

He also touted his recent rescinding of his predecessors mandate restricting business hours of operation and capacity, which he called arbitrary.