19,500 unused vaccines found and put back into distribution stream

Gov. Greg Gianforte announced that the state government, in partnership with Walgreens and CVS, has found nearly 20,000 unused doses of COVID-19 vaccine which have been redirected to immunize Montanans in Phase 1B of the state's vaccination plan.

Gianforte said these vaccines were originally allocated by the federal government for immunizing long-term care facility staff and residents but were not needed.

He said the government calculated the allocation to these facilities based on the number of beds in them, not all of which were full, resulting in the unused vaccine.

He said this is good news, but there is still some work to be done before the vaccines can be officially put back into the distribution stream and asked the public for patience.

Gianforte said distribution of the vaccine in Montana is going well overall, with 110,000 vaccines having been administered by the state government and 27,500 people having been fully immunized.

"The vaccine is safe... and will help us return to a more normal life," he said.

Despite the good news, he said, the state is still receiving less vaccine per week than he thinks is appropriate based on how well the state is distributing the vaccine.

Gianforte said the state saw an increase of 2,000 vaccines per week last week from the federal government and the Biden administration has promised another increase next week, though a smaller one.

He said he's still not clear on the method the federal government uses to determine allocation state by state.

When asked if he thought the state's allocation was low because of its reputation as a deep-red state, Gianforte said he has no reason to suspect that is true.

He was also asked about a bill making its way through the legislature that would end late registration for elections the Friday before election day, and said he would give it thoughtful consideration when it arrives on his desk.

He also said he's been having weekly calls with the nations governors and ideas regarding distribution efficiency are being shared between states.

Gianforte said local public health has been working hard to administer the vaccine to as many people as possible and called their efforts heroic.

He said people should go to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Service website to find contact information for the local health agency responsible for administering the vaccine in their area and sign up ASAP if they are in Phase 1B.

People who do not have access to the necessary technology should ask a friend or neighbor for help, he said.

Gianforte said trends regarding COVID-19 transmission in Montana remain promising with cases per day dropping dramatically since mid-November of last year.