Vaccine Allotment Increases In Montana

The Montana Department of Public Health’s first dose COVID vaccine allotment is set to increase by 7,240 doses this week, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., says the state will get an additional 2,340 Pfizer first doses (for a total of 17,550) and another 4,900 Johnson & Johnson shots (for a total of 6,100), as well as 10,400 Moderna first doses, bringing the total to 34,050 first doses, up from 26,810 last week.

These doses are specifically allocated to the state and do not include doses allocated to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Indian Health Services, or other federal programs delivered directly to Montana.

“Each week we’re getting more and more Montanans vaccinated, which is the key to putting this pandemic behind us and getting our economy back on track,” Tester said. “These increases in dose allocations are welcome news for the Treasure State, and I’ll continue working with this administration to ramp up our supply so we can ensure every Montanan can access a vaccine as soon as possible, no matter who they are or where they live.”

Last month, Tester demanded the Biden Administration distribute a fair share of vaccines to Montana after it was revealed that the state was receiving one of the lowest per capita allocations of coronavirus vaccines in the country, despite the state’s strong record of efficiently distributing shots. Following his efforts, Montana received a significant increase in COVID-19 vaccines. Tester fought to secure $20 billion as a part of the most recent COVID relief bill for vaccine production, procurement, and distribution that will help ensure every Montanan who wants a vaccine can receive one.

Area Statistics

As of Sunday, March 28, Roosevelt County has six active cases and one current hospitalization. There have been 53 COVID-related deaths reported in the county.

As of Monday, March 29, Valley County’s active count was five. There have been 858 recovered cases and 11 reported COVID-reported deaths.

Daniels County had zero active cases as of Monday, March 29. The county has 190 recovered cases and 197 cumulative cases. Seven deaths have occurred due to COVID-19 and/or complications. There are no cases currently hospitalized.

In McCone County, there are no active cases as of Monday, March 29. There are 181 recovered cases. There has been one COVID-related death in the county.

The Phillips County Health Department was reporting four active cases as of Thursday, March 25. Five hundred cases are listed as recovered. There are four active hospitalizations and 17 reported COVID-related deaths.

For Richland County, there are no active cases and 1,191 recovered cases as of Tuesday, March 23. Total deaths are 16. There have been 1,208 total cases.

Statewide

According to Montana health officials, the state’s total number of known cases now stands at 104,163 since the start of the pandemic. There have been 1,190,831 tests conducted.

Around the state, there are 935 active cases. There are 42 active hospitalizations.

By Tuesday, March 30, a total of 1,436 deaths have been reported statewide. A total of 101,792 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.

Vaccine Doses

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services’ dashboard features county by county breakdown as far as vaccination numbers.

In Roosevelt County, 3,559 total doses have been administered. There have been 1,459 fully immunizations.

As of Monday, March 29, 458,577 total doses have been administered in Montana. There are 181,907 fully immunized Montanans. The dashboard can be found at https://www.arcgis. com/apps/MapSeries/ index.html?appid=7c-34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b.