MISSOULA — Missoula County is in the middle of transitioning from Phase 1A to 1B of the COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan.
With an estimated 40,000 people who belong to Phase 1B, an incredible amount of coordination is required to get the process rolling, and get it rolling smoothly.
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Missoula officials announced Wednesday that the county will receive 1,500 doses of the vaccine each week for the foreseeable future.
The shipment of doses could fluctuate, and we could receive more doses sooner, but as of right now, doses are limited nationwide, so Missoula County will have to operate on a tiered system.
That means that right now, the first people in line for the vaccine are those 70 and older, and American Indians and other people of color age 16 and older who may be at an elevated risk for COVID-19.
The county has 26 providers registered to administer vaccines, and when feasible, it will hold public vaccination clinics.
“Vaccine availability will dictate how often we can do the clinics, and as long as we have vaccine available, we will make it available to the public in one way or another, whether it's through the providers of the 26 registered vaccine providers around the county, or some of it's in a mass vaccination clinic like this,” Missoula County COVID-19 Vaccine Coordination Team spokesman Nick Holloway said.
The latest numbers show that 10,138 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Missoula County and 2,493 people are fully vaccinated.
Click here for information regarding the vaccine and your place in line.