Gianforte: Montana is a national leader in vaccine distribution

Gov. Greg Gianforte held a press conference Thursday to provide an update on the state's vaccine roll-out and announce that Montana has become a national leader in distribution efficiency.

Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gianforte said, 93 percent of vaccine doses sent to Montana have found their way into the arms of state residents, the best rate in the U.S.

He thanked the state's health care workers for their efforts and called them heroes.

He said the state is making progress on fighting the pandemic, and recently saw back-to-back weeks where the average daily case count was fewer than 200.

He said trends in the state are encouraging, with hospitalizations remaining low as well.

Gianforte said COVID-19 the state, on his orders, recently opted into a federal pharmacy program to get more vaccines to Montanans in rural areas through businesses like CVS and Walgreens.

COVID-19 Task Force Director Maj. General Matthew Quinn said the state will get more information on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, currently under review for emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, this week, but the initial expectation is that Montana will get 1,000 to 1,500 of the first million to be produced for the U.S.

He said the state has seen incremental increases to its allocation and this new vaccine will add to that.

When asked about counties nearing completion of Phase 1B of the vaccine roll-out, Gianforte said his administration is just beginning discussions about how to expand.

He said they've heard back from some counties that they're almost ready to move to phase 1C, so the state will need to make a decision in the next few weeks.

Gianforte again touted the fact that his administration lifted what he called arbitrary restrictions on hours of operation and capacity for Montana businesses, put in place by the previous administration to slow the spread of COVID-19 after a surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the fall. The numbers in the state dropped dramatically in the months following the restrictions being enacted.

"It's hard for a waiter to make any money when the restaurant is shut down, or no one is at the tables," he said.

Gianforte again praised a bill he recently signed into law protecting businesses, places of worship and health care organizations from lawsuits related to COVID-19 transmission at their establishments provided they are making good-faith efforts to protect customers and staff.

He also said he signed a bill this week that makes fishing free on Mother's Day weekend.