BOZEMAN, Mont. – Nearly 1,000 Bozeman Health employees will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine the state is expected to distribute later this month.
Gov. Steve Bullock announced Monday that the first round of the COVID-19 vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer that comes to Montana will go to health care workers at major hospitals. Ten entities, including Bozeman Health, are getting a portion of the estimated 9,750 allocations of the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
The state is expected to receive another shipment containing the second dose of the vaccine, which is administered 21 days after the first dose. Birgen Knoff, Bozeman Health’s system director of clinical practice and emergency operations manager, said they expect to receive 975 doses of the vaccine with the first shipment.
After holding fairly steady for months, COVID-19 cases have risen dramatically in recent months in Bozeman. Though numbers seemed to stabilize last week, health officials warn it’s too soon to know if the virus spread is being contained. Also on Monday, the Gallatin County Health Department reported 147 new cases from Dec. 4 to Dec. 6, and the November death of a man in his 80s from the virus.
“As far as where we stand in the pandemic, anytime is a good time for a vaccine,” Knoff said. “I think this is obviously great news for our country and for the world right now. We’re desperately in need to try and slow this pandemic down.”
Knoff said they have a task force determining how they will prioritize which employees will get the first round of the vaccine. Bozeman Health has about 2,450 employees, including contractors, spokesperson Lauren Brendel said. About 1,800 of those employees deal with patients directly, Knoff said.
The vaccine won’t be required for employees, though Knoff said they will strongly encourage it.
They’ve heard they may be receiving additional doses of the vaccine from other companies at the end of the month, Knoff said, though they don’t have any confirmed details.
According to Bullock’s news release, Montana is anticipating it will receive a second shipment of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Those doses will be allocated to rural hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, according to the release.
Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, the Moderna vaccine does not need to be stored at extremely cold temperatures, which the release said will help make it easier to deliver to rural or small facilities.
Bozeman Health does have the cold storage required for the Pfizer vaccine, Knoff said. The health system is a trial site for the vaccine, with over 100 area participants. Having experience in administering the Pfizer vaccine will be an asset as the health system starts to vaccinate its employees, Knoff said.
“It’s going to be a great thing for our staff in caring for these patients,” Knoff said.
When the vaccine will become widely available to the general public is still up in the air. County health officer Matt Kelley said last week the department is starting to plan how it will distribute the vaccine.
They are working with Bozeman Health, Gallatin County Emergency Management and first responder agencies, Kelley said.
“This is all happening so quickly that we don’t have a lot of information. What I can tell you is we’re getting ready,” Kelley said. “What I would stress to everybody (is) it’s going to be a long process, and it’s going to require some patience and some grace.”
