Many Residents Getting Booster Shots

Roosevelt County Health Department officials are seeing a very good response as far as residents receiving COVID booster shots.

“We are doing one or two COVID clinics a week,” Patty Presser, director at the health department, said. Usually it takes a couple of weeks until a person can be scheduled in for a vaccine. About 80 individuals are being taken care of during each clinic. To make an appointment, call 406-653-6223.

“We get everybody in as quickly as we can,” Presser said. “Some are first shots, but most are getting their boosters.”

Vaccination clinics are scheduled from 3-6 p.m. on Dec. 9 in Wolf Point, Dec. 16 in Wolf Point, Dec. 22 in Culbertson and Dec. 30 in Wolf Point.

The boosters are now recommended for anybody people 18 years or older.

“You can request what type you want and it doesn’t have to be the same as your first one,” Presser noted.

To receive their booster vaccination, people should wait six months after they received their Pfizer or Moderna shots or two months after they had their Johnson & Johnson shot.

People should bring their CDC COVID-19 vaccination record card to their booster shot appointment. If you did not receive a card at your first appointment, contact the vaccination site where you got your first shot or your state health department.

According to the CDC, recent emergence of the Omicron variant further emphasizes the importance of vaccination, boosters and prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19.

Presser noted that the health department is looking for community members, with or without medical training, to help out as volunteers. The specific role that a volunteer plays will depend on their background. The volunteers are needed to keep up with on-going needs. Two people have already stepped up to volunteer at the department.

“It has helped immensely,” Presser said.