COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Phase 1C beginning very soon!

If you have filled out the vaccination survey on Carbonalert.org and you qualify for Phase 1C, be expecting a call soon to schedule an appointment to receive the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine. If you are wondering if you are included in Phase 1C, please see the criteria below that we have adapted for Carbon County. If you are not sure if this is your phase, please call 446-0609.  *Please note*  if you are a worker and living in Carbon County, you likely are in this phase!

PHASE 1C:

-Anyone 60 years and older

-Ages 18-59 with medical conditions not included in 1B, but may create increased risk for COVID-19 complications (please see list on Carbonalert.org)

-All Frontline Essential Workers 18 years and older. We believe ALL workers in Carbon communities are essential to our residents and welcomed visitors. So, if you work with the public, or are employed in a work group, you likely qualify for Phase 1C. This includes (but not limited to) workers in Education, Grocery, Retail, Service, Construction, Finance, Real Estate, Health/Fitness/Beauty, Agriculture, Tourism, Food/Bar Service, Govt. Employees

-Still no recommendations out for ages less than 16 years. If you have a child 16 or 17 years old with a qualifying health condition, please contact Public Health for guidance on receiving a Pfizer vaccine.

As we approach 70 million COVID vaccinations in the US, efficacy and safety data continues to meet or exceed expectations.  Side effects are tolerable and almost always resolve by the next day. Like all viruses, SARS-CoV-2 has been mutating and these new variants are spreading in the US. The sooner most of us have immunity to COVID-19, the less of an impact these variants will have on our population. Please consider being vaccinated by visiting Carbonalert.org and filling out our survey. Lastly, soon the CDC will release new guidelines for less activity restrictions for vaccinated persons – keep an eye out for this!

Bill George MD, Carbon County Public Health Officer

Here is some relevant COVID-19 news for this cold Montana week.

We’ve gotten great feedback from the public and the State on our COVID-19 vaccination program. To date, 955 persons in phase 1B have received their first vaccine injection, and approximately another 455 1B persons are awaiting their first injection. Second dose for phase 1B to begin next week. Remember, your second dose will be available for you at your given appointment time. I’m so proud of our Public Health staff and Beartooth Billings Clinic Hospital staff and volunteers who continue to strive for an equitable, transparent, safe and efficient vaccine program.  

If you are at least 70 yrs. of age or have one of the significant health conditions required for Phase 1B, PLEASE consider being vaccinated. Very rare (mostly allergic) side effects have been reported after 48 million injections (to-date) of this mRNA COVID vaccine have been given. Early data is beginning to show likely transmission prevention of COVID-19 as well as the proven efficacy to prevent severe disease. Also, please consider filling out our COVID vaccine survey at the top of this page to request a vaccine for upcoming phases.

As expected, Governor Gianforte has rescinded Montana’s mask mandate effective today. Other directives involved with Montana’s phase reopening plan are also rescinded. This change in policy prioritizes many Montanan’s desires for individual responsibility over state directives to protect the public during this pandemic. Guidelines for safety and viral suppression will still be recommended by Federal and State agencies in charge of monitoring disease prevalence, hospitalizations, injuries and economic effects.

Though case numbers and hospitalizations are significantly decreased in Montana and in the US, the emergence and increase of new Corona viral variants as well as the persistence of a large number of active cases has resulted in the recommendation to continue all the previous mitigation measures (masking, distance and hygiene) at this time.  

The Carbon County Board of Health continues to RECOMEND wearing an appropriate face covering while in public and when 6 feet of distance cannot be assured. Local businesses should consider changing their signage to alert patrons of this recommendation. Remember, it is every business owner’s legal right to establish policies known to increase safety for their patrons and employees.

US COVID hospitalizations this week are the lowest level since November. The reason is unclear, but likely this is not a result of our still early vaccine distribution. However, as vaccine immunity expands and if these new viral variants are not resistant to our chosen vaccines, we do expect (in the coming months) hospitalizations and eventually COVID related deaths to dramatically decrease to a manageable level. When this occurs I expect these isolating and difficult mitigation measures will begin to be lifted, and life will begin to look more normal for all of us.

Bill George MD, Carbon County Public Health Officer

COVID-19 Vaccine Update 1/25/2021

Thanks everyone for their participation and patience with our first COVID-19 vaccine clinic for phase 1B persons last Thursday.  We’ve received supportive and helpful feedback with this process and will continue to make improvements in upcoming weeks. Here is some helpful numbers and other info as you wait for your call/email for a vaccine appointment. PLEASE REMEMBER – the number of persons requesting vaccines continue to increase daily. We are hoping that the amount of vaccines that Montana and Carbon County receive will also increase in the weeks ahead – this is very dependent on Federal policy and supply chain issues.

-See below the link to the new Montana County Specific Vaccine Map tracking the number of people in our state/county who are partially and fully immunized.

-To date, we have had 2163 requests for COVID-19 vaccines. This includes 1008 persons qualified for Phase 1B.

-Presently, 256 persons in Phase 1A and 209 persons in Phase 1B are fully vaccinated or awaiting their 2^nd . These doses were given in Carbon County.

-Vaccine supply continues to be very limited, and after this week we don’t expect to receive more than 100 doses/week for the next few weeks. This does not include doses of vaccine to complete the two-shot series.

-General questions concerning COVID-19 or COVID-19 vaccines can be asked through the Carbonalert.org site/contact tab.

We continue to strive for an equitable and transparent process. Our staff will contact by email/phone those who requested vaccines through the Carbon Alert survey and by phone. Carbonalert.org COVID survey tool is the preferred process for enrollment. Vaccine appointments will be offered in order of request received – there are no exceptions to this process.

Looking at the numbers of vaccines arriving and vaccinations requested, it seems that it will be several weeks before Phase 1B receives at least their first dose. Remember, the first dose provides over 80% protection, while the value of the second dose is to lengthen the time of protection and increase efficacy to 95%. As all of our patience is again being tested, please remember how very effective the recommended preventative measures (distance, masks, hygiene and staying home ill) are for both avoiding and transmitting this illness.

Bill George MD, Carbon County Public Health Officer

Thank you all for waiting so patiently for more news on our local COVID vaccination process. Like in all communities, we do not know the amount of vaccine we will receive until soon before shipment. Our supply chain is managed by the State of Montana. I believe they are doing a good job getting vaccines out as quick as possible to all vaccination centers. As we have said before, supply is extremely limited but will likely continue to improve in the weeks ahead.

Here is some important news:

-Vaccinations for Phase 1B will begin Thursday, January 21. Those of you who expressed interest by filling out the survey (at CarbonAlert.org) or called Public Health or Beartooth Billings Clinic for inclusion, will be called for a time slot and information. To assure an equitable process, names will be called in the order we received your interest. Please do not call Beartooth Billings Clinic or Public Health to inquire about your place in line. Besides the complexities of vaccinations, the daily work of PH continues. Numerous active infections and quarantine management continues to challenge our limited personnel.

-Montana’s Phase 1B continues to include those over 70 years of age, persons aged 18 – 69 with high-risk medical conditions, American Indian and other people of color who may be at elevated risk. This list can be found on DPHHS and Carbon alert web site. This list can be found on DPHHS and Carbon Alert web site.

-Moderna’s mRNA vaccine will be the predominate vaccine in the near term for Montanans. This vaccine is only indicated for those over 18 yrs. of age.

-Plan on waiting for 15 minutes after your vaccine to observe for possible rare allergic reactions.

-For long term immunity, the vaccination requires a booster dose in 28 days. We have been assured there will be a supply for this. You will be assisted in making this second appointment.

-Riverstone Health patients utilizing Bridger and Joliet clinics should call their clinics to request receiving their vaccination at their clinics.

-The Public Health vaccination events will serve Beartooth Billings Clinic and Mountainview SCL patients, as well as any other Carbon County residents.

-For logistical reasons we will strive to vaccinate a minimum of 100 people on scheduled vaccination days.

-Plans are being made to allow access for vaccinations in other parts of Carbon County. The frequency of all our local vaccination clinics will depend on vaccine supply. Our goal is to avoid holding unused vaccines for greater than 1 week.

Here are some questions that we don’t have answers for currently:

How long will Phase 1 group take to complete? Will phase descriptions change and be more inclusive? When will other types of COVID vaccines be available?

Here is something I do know:

We are committed to a safe, equitable, transparent and efficient COVID-19 Vaccination Program. Our citizens deserve no less. We appreciate your patience with this process. I will do my best to update you on our vaccination status and any changes to the process.

Bill George MD Carbon County Public Health Officer

Happy New Year everyone. Having these most recent updates focusing on our COVID -19 vaccines is a wonderfully hopeful way to begin 2021. Like all things COVID, this process will evolve with time as vaccine supplies and data on efficacy and safety continue to develop. As many of you know, reports from the original vaccine study participants (many thousands) and those most recently vaccinated (millions) continue to be very positive. In the last few weeks, we have finally seen decreased Montana COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations. Sadly, Montana has reached over 1000 deaths from COVID-19.  Please consider getting vaccinated when your phase is called (which will be explained below.) To give some relief for our still full hospitals, I am hoping that the prevalence of infections continues to become more manageable.  With more of our population becoming protected, and seemingly decreasing case counts, this is a crucial time to double down on the mitigation measures (distancing, masking and hygiene) shown to help slow the spread of COVID-19.  As we have already seen, less people ill from this virus also translates to a better business environment. Let’s begin the new year hopeful that these vaccinations and everyone’s continued hard work will finally bring a much-needed reprieve from this illness.

Below is an updated, brief summary of the Carbon County COVID-19 vaccination rollout. We are following MT DPHHS criteria for allocation of vaccines consistent with guidance from the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP.) Vaccination schedules depend on state vaccine availability, critical infrastructure groups, and those most at risk for severe disease from COVID-19. 

• Phase 1A -Frontline Healthcare Workers, Long Term Care staff and residents.
• Phase 1B – age 70 years and older, American Indians and other people of color who may be at elevated risk for COVID-19 complications, and persons aged 16-69 with high-risk medical conditions. Click here for a list of qualifying medical conditions.
• Phase 1C -Frontline Essential Workers, persons 60 years and older, individuals residing in congregate care and correctional facilities, and persons aged 16-59 with medical conditions not listed in phase 1B. Click here for the list of those medical conditions.
• Phase 2 – everyone else over 16 yrs. of age.

Please remember that vaccinations are still limited and Carbon Alert will update vaccine information when possible. We appreciate your patience!!!

Carbon County Public Health has developed a public survey that you can fill out to express your interest in receiving the COVID-19 vaccination when it becomes available. This survey will gather contact information and will allow Public Health to contact those interested when they are ready to schedule them. 

Please go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C27SG8P to complete the survey.

Thank you,

Bill George MD, Carbon County Public Health Officer

Other helpful links:

CDC/MT DPHHS Phased COVID-19 Vaccine distribution and other info:

https://dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/cdepi/diseases/coronavirusvaccine

CDC guidance for people at increased risk:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.htm