Vaccines Clinics Scheduled In Area
The Task Force of Roosevelt County, Fort Peck Tribes, Roosevelt Medical Center, Northeast Montana Health Services and Indian Health Services met on Monday, Feb. 22. Information was provided on variant COVID strains circulating in 44 states including in North Dakota. It is predicted that by mid-March, the variant strain plaguing the United Kingdom with high transmissibility and high death rates may be the dominant strain in the U.S.
Currently, COVID case numbers have decreased in the county and reservation. Active daily cases have been averaging 25, with two to six new cases per day, over the past week. Multiple factors are usually responsible for changes in case numbers. In our communities, it may signal less viral activity along with fewer people getting tested. So, where does that leave us here in Northeast Montana at this time? What, as a community, is our best course of action at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic?
CDC recommendations remain in place. They are:
•Wear a mask in public
•Stay 6 feet away from others
•Avoid crowds
•Avoid poorly ventilated spaces
•Wash your hands often
•Cover coughs and sneezes
•Clean and disinfect
•Monitor your health daily
•Get vaccinated to protect against COVID-19 Personal responsibility and good judgment should be exercised. Gov. Gianforte allowed the state mask mandate to expire about two weeks ago. The Roosevelt County Board of Health met on Feb. 16, and did not put forth any county mask-wearing mandate for businesses or schools. Neither of these actions mean we slack up on wearing masks, but it means control is less with the government and more with individuals. Businesses and local school boards can individually decide how best to apply public health principles. Several schools have communicated that they will continue with mask-wearing at least through the end of the school year. Wolf Point, Poplar and Culbertson schools have or will be hosting basketball tournaments following Montana High School Association guidelines for COVID prevention.
The vaccination efforts continue in our area. Indian Health Services has vaccinated 1,300 people for first doses. They will host vaccine clinics in Poplar on Thursday, Feb. 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Poplar Cultural Center and in Wolf Point on Friday, Feb 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Wolf Point Community Hall. All eligible IHS clients above age 18 are welcome.
Roosevelt County Health Department has vaccinated 460 people for first doses, Roosevelt Medical Center approximately 100 first doses and NEMHS approximately 100 first doses. The health department predicts that Phase 1B recipients will be completed by mid-March, then they will be able to serve people in Phase 1C of the Montana COVID vaccine distribution plan (see criteria for Phases below). If you are not IHS eligible and are in either Phase 1B or 1C, sign up on the Roosevelt County Health Department’s COVID vaccine list by calling 406-653-6223 or 406-653-6124 or go to their Facebook page and click on the link to sign up. Someone will call you and set up an appointment time for your vaccination.
The current group of people being vaccinated is Phase 1B: Persons aged 70 years and older; American Indians and other people of color who may be at elevated risk for COVID-19 complications; Persons aged 16-69 with high-risk medical conditions. Qualifying medical conditions include: Cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), Down Syndrome, heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies, immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant, severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/ m2), Sickle cell disease, Type 1 & 2 Diabetes mellitus and on a case-by-case basis, medical providers may include individuals with other conditions that place them at elevated risk for COVID-19 related complications.
The next group to be vaccinated is 1C: frontline essential workers, persons aged 60 years and older, individuals residing in congregate care and correctional facilities, persons aged 16-59 with medical conditions not included in phase 1B that may have an elevated risk of COVID-19 complications, conditions include: asthma (moderate-to-severe), cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain), cystic fibrosis, hypertension or high blood pressure, immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines, neurologic conditions, such as dementia, liver disease, overweight (MMI>25kg/m2, but < 50 kg/m2), pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues) and Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder) On the day of this press release, Feb. 22, the United States reached a death toll of 500,000 people. A half million people lost their lives. The COVID pandemic has been a long year of unprecedented illness and stress for us all. Please continue to diligently follow public health principles and interventions as each of us play a part in the outcome.
For information about COVID-19 or the vaccine, email covid19taskforce@rooseveltcounty. org.
Area Statistics
Daniels County had three active cases as of Tuesday, Feb. 23. The county has 185 recovered cases and 195 cumulative cases. Seven deaths have occurred due to COVID-19 and/or complications. There are no cases currently hospitalized.
In McCone County, there were three active cases as of Monday, Feb. 22. There are 172 recovered cases.
For Richland County, there are 23 active cases and 1,147 recovered cases as of Monday, Feb. 22. Total deaths are 15. There are 30-plus contacts being monitored.
Statewide
According to Montana health officials, the state’s total number of known cases now stands at 98,810 since the start of the pandemic. There have been 1,050,392 tests conducted.
Around the state, there are 2,170 active cases. There are 78 active hospitalizations.
By Tuesday, Feb. 23, a total of 1,341 deaths have been reported statewide. A total of 95,299 people are listed as recovered.
Several health mandates for Montana put into effect by former Gov. Steve Bullock were removed by new Gov. Greg Gianforte Jan. 15: Restaurants, bars, breweries, distilleries and casinos no longer have to close at 10 p.m. Gianforte encourages businesses to follow public health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, but the governor removed capacity limits for businesses.
Gianforte issued a directive and an executive order on Friday, Feb. 12. The directive rescinds and replaces all prior directives implementing Executive Order 2-2021, which the governor issued on Jan. 13. Consistent with the governor’s announcement on Wednesday, Feb. 10, the new directive allows the statewide mask mandate to expire. Local jurisdictions may still choose to implement their own mask requirements. Gianforte emphasized how providing incentives and encouraging personal responsibility are more effective than imposing unenforceable government mandates.
On Feb. 10, Gianforte signed S.B. 65 into law which provides a liability shield to businesses, nonprofits and others who protect their workers, their customers, and their clients from the spread of COVID-19.
In keeping with Gianforte’s Jan. 13 directive which removed restrictions on hours of service and capacity for businesses, the latest directive continues to encourage businesses to adopt industry best practices or public health guidance to protect their employees and customers. The directive also continues to promote the use of telehealth services, protect vulnerable Montanans from eviction or foreclosure, ease of licensing for health care professionals and a reduction in regulatory burdens.
On Monday, Feb. 22, President Biden commemorated the country’s 500,000 COVID-related death with a ceremony.
Vaccine Info
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services’ dashboard can be found at https://www.arcgis.com/ apps/MapSeries/index.html? appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b.
