Novavax Vaccine Available In County

On July 13, the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted. It is a two-dose series, doses given three weeks apart. It is only to be used for the primary series, not for boosters.

Novavax is a protein subunit vaccine, not an mRNA vaccine. Protein subunit COVID-19 vaccines contain pieces (proteins) of the virus that causes COVID-19; these proteins are called the “spike protein.” Protein subunit COVID-19 vaccines also contain another ingredient called an adjuvant that helps the immune system develop an enhanced response. Once the immune system knows how to respond to the spike protein, the immune system will be able to respond quickly to the actual virus spike protein and protect you against COVID-19. Researchers have been studying protein subunit vaccines for a long time and this type of vaccine has been in use for decades. Like all vaccines, protein subunit vaccines benefit people who get vaccinated by giving them protection against diseases like COVID-19 without risking the potentially serious consequences of getting sick.

Roosevelt County Health Department hosts COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Wolf Point the first and third Thursdays of the month, and in Culbertson on the fourth Thursday. Clinics for children 5-11 years of age are held every three weeks on Fridays. Please call 406-653-6223 for a COVID vaccine appointment.

Roosevelt County has 30 active COVID cases as of Friday, Aug. 12. There have been 3,478 total cases in the county.

Adult (12 years and up) COVID vaccination clinics are scheduled for Aug. 18 from 3-5 p.m. in Wolf Point and Aug. 25 from 3-5 p.m. in Culbertson. A vaccination clinic for children, ages 5-11) is scheduled for Sept. 2 from 1-4 p.m. in Wolf Point.

While COVID-19 cases are currently low in Montana, experts predict there will be a resurgence of the virus and hospitalizations in the fall. This is the time to order the free at-home test kits available from COVID.gov/tests.

Having these kits on-hand makes it easy to protect yourself and your community when you may have been exposed, or are feeling ill.

These test are:

• Rapid antigen at-home tests

• Can be taken anywhere

• Give results within 30 minutes (no lab drop-off required) • Work whether or not you have COVID-19 symptoms

• Work whether or not you are up to date on your COVID-19 vaccines

• Are also referred to as self-tests or over-the-counter tests The tests are being distributed by the U.S. Postal Service. Additional information can be accessed at: https:// www.covid.gov/tests/faq.

Area Statistics

Daniels County had four active cases as of Friday, Aug. 12. The county has 425 cumulative cases. Valley County reported 16 active cases as of Friday, Aug. 12. The county has 1,916 cumulative cases. In McCone County, there were zero active cases as of Friday, Aug. 12. There have been 406 cumulative cases.

Phillips County had zero active cases as of Friday, Aug. 12. There have been 1,093 cumulative cases in the county.

For Richland County, there were three active cases as of Friday, Aug. 12. There have been 2,775 cumulative cases.

Sheridan County had 16 active cases as of Friday, Aug. 12. There have been 802 cumulative cases in the county.

Statewide

According to Montana health officials, the state’s total number of known cases now stands at 300,607 since the start of the pandemic.

Around the state, there are 2,099 active cases and 1,824 newly reported cases in the last week.

By Friday, Aug. 12, a total of 3,481 deaths have been reported statewide. A total of 12,934 individuals have been hospitalized.

North Dakota Statistics

Williams County, N.D., had 105 active cases as of Thursday, Aug. 11.

McKenzie County, N.D., had 19 active cases as of Thursday, Aug. 11.

Divide County, N.D., had two active cases as of Thursday, Aug 11.

Vaccine Doses

As of Friday, Aug. 12, 1,527,257 total doses have been administered in Montana. There are 571,664 or 53 percent fully immunized Montanans.

In Roosevelt County, 13,822 total doses have been administered as of Friday, Aug. 12. There are 5,614 fully immunized for 51 percent of the county’s eligible population for vaccination.

In Valley County, 8,520 total doses have been administered. There are 3,297 fully immunized for 45 percent of the county’s population eligible for vaccination.

In Daniels County, 1,831 total doses have been administered. There are 714 fully immunized for 44 percent of the county’s population eligible for vaccination.

In McCone County, 1,173 total doses have been administered. There are 432 fully immunized for 26 percent of the county’s population eligible for vaccination.

In Richland County, 10,555 total doses have been administered. There are 4,335 fully immunized for 39 percent of the county’s population eligible for vaccination.

In Phillips County, 4,519 total doses have been administered. There are 1,788 fully immunized for 46 percent of the county’s population eligible for vaccination.

In Sheridan County, 5,053 total doses have been administered. There are 1,862 fully immunized for 57 percent of the county’s population eligible for vaccination.

The dashboard can be found at https://www.arcgis. com/apps/MapSeries/ index.html?appid=7c-34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b.