MISSOULA — The Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD) issued an urgent social media post on Friday saying that area hospitals are receiving an overwhelming number of calls from the public asking for the COVID-19 vaccine.
MCCHD is urging residents not to call the hospitals seeking the COVID-19 vaccine since it is not available to the general public at this time.
The first round of vaccines have been designated for healthcare workers only as mandated by the US Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) and the state of Montana.
Additional information about the vaccine and the current timeline can be found here.
Healthcare worker vaccinations began at both Community Medical Center and St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula on Thursday.
Gov. Steve Bullock announced the second-week round of allocations of COVID-19 vaccines on Friday.
The vaccine will be designated for healthcare workers at rural hospitals, and staff and residents of long-term care facilities.
The governor also said that the federal government has reduced the state’s anticipated allocation of vaccine doses through the end of the year from 60,000 to 48,000 doses.