250 veterans receive vaccine at Havre clinic, Montana adds 408 new COVID-19 cases Thursday

Veterans living in rural settings will receive their first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday at the new Merril Lundman VA Clinic in Havre. 

The Montana VA Health Care System was recently selected to lead a national pilot program to bring vaccinations to rural veterans. Early this morning, a vaccination team flew the first 250 doses of the vaccine to Havre in special plug-in coolers.

"We are grateful MTVAHCS was selected to lead this pilot program to bring vaccines to rural veterans," said MTVAHCS Executive Director Judy Hayman in a statement. "It has been uplifting to see veterans' relief and joy in being able to get the vaccine."

Hayman continued and said that veterans have shared that they are getting the vaccine "so they can protect themselves, their loved ones, health care professionals and return to a life where masking is not required and people can safely come together." 

The Moderna vaccine is 94% effective at preventing COVID-19 disease after the second dose according to clinical trials. The vaccine is administered in two doses given 28 days apart. It is recommended that individuals continue to wear face masks, practice distancing and maintain proper hand hygiene even after receiving the vaccine. 

"I'm proud to have worked with folks on the ground to secure this new and convenient site that will continue to administer highly-anticipated vaccines and provide essential health care to our state's rural veterans," said Sen. Jon Tester in a statement. 

"This first round of vaccines will help save lives by effectively slowing the spread in our communities--a key step in ending the ongoing pandemic and getting Montana's economy back on track," he continued. 

More:Residents frustrated, disappointed with mass COVID-19 vaccination effort in Great Falls

The MTVAHCS has held several vaccination clinics for enrolled veterans across the state at the Miles City Community Living Center, as well as locations in Helena, Missoula and Billings. To date, over 600 veterans and 850 MTVAHCS staff have received their first dose of the vaccine. 

"It's great to see the Montana VA working to protect its most vulnerable patients and provide care to veterans across the state, including rural communities like Havre," said Sen. Steve Daines in a statement. "As some of Montana's most vulnerable continue to receive COVID-19 vaccines, I'll keep working to ensure every Montanan who wants a vaccine receives one." 

Veterans are encouraged not to call MTVAHCS or their local clinics regarding vaccination appointments. Based on risk and vaccine allocations, the MTVAHCS staff will continue to contact individual veterans to schedule appointments. 

The state posted 408 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing Montana’s total to 90,649 confirmed reports.

Of the total cases, 84,708 are recovered and 4,841 remain active. There are 137 people who are now hospitalized out of 4,049 total hospitalizations, according to the state website covid19.mt.gov.

Montana added six deaths overnight, bringing the total to 1,110 fatalities related to the respiratory illness.

The state has administered 892,770 tests for the coronavirus, which is 4,886 more than Wednesday.

Cascade County reported 16 new cases. The county now has 561 active cases, 6,511 recoveries and 124 deaths.

Flathead County topped the state for new daily cases on Thursday and added 66, bringing the county to 633 active cases out of 9,764 total. The county accounts for nearly 13% of active cases in the state as of Thursday. 

More:Cascade County residents age 70 and older to get COVID-19 vaccine, state adds 178 cases Monday

Yellowstone County reported 49 new cases, Missoula County posted 48, Gallatin County added 45, Silver Bow County recorded 19, Deer Lodge County reported 18 and Lewis and Clark County reported 17. 

In northcentral Montana Phillips County added 11 new cases on Thursday bringing the county to 19 active cases out of 462 cumulative cases. There have been 13 deaths reported in the county. 

The Phillips County Health Department shared on its Facebook page that it had recently completed "extensive contact tracing linked" to a basketball game in Dodson last Friday. 

"It has come to our attention, that many individuals in the community are concerned about their attendance at the basketball game in Dodson on Friday, Jan. 15," wrote the health department in the post. "Phillips County Health Department has completed extensive contact tracing linked to this event, and mandatory isolation and quarantine measures have been placed." 

The post continues and says that concerned residents that have not been contacted by the health department are not required to quarantine at this time. However, if individuals begin experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 they are encouraged to contact the health department to schedule testing. 

As of Jan. 19, the health department said two Phillips County residents were actively hospitalized due to COVID-19 related illness out of 41 total hospitalizations. 

Pondera County added seven new cases, Teton County posted four, Hill and Toole counties each reported three, Fergus and Glacier counties each added one. 

Meagher, Petroleum, Garfield, Prairie, Wibaux and Fallon counties are the only in the state that are currently reporting zero active cases of COVID-19. 

Skylar Rispens reports on education and breaking news for the Great Falls Tribune. To contact her with comments or story ideas please email her at srispens@greatfallstribune.com. Follow her on Twitter @skylar_rispens or on Facebook at Skylar Rispens.

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