Community next in First District Health Unit’s COVID-19 vaccinations

First District continues vaccinations

Although vaccinations of fire and police responders has begun, COVID-19 vaccine availability has been limited in First District Health Unit, Lisa Clute, executive director for the health unit, told Minot City Council members Monday.

Clute said vaccines have been arriving in batches of 100 to 200 doses.

"As those doses have come available, we have put those all into the first responder area. We are still needing additional doses for responders in our seven counties," she said.

First District has requested an additional 1,000 doses from the state.

"We anticipate that we will receive most of what we have asked for. Next week we will be working with emergency managers to schedule the rest of the first responders," Clute said.

Any remaining vaccine then would become available to the next tier of eligible individuals. The North Dakota Department of Health recently released a vaccine eligibility update that places individuals aged 75 and older in the next tier, followed by people older than 65 with two or more health risks.

"First District is going to continue to work on that community group," Clute said. She said First District is working with Trinity Health to identify their eligible patients in the priority groups.

"As soon as we get vaccine available, we will communicate to the public in various methods," she said. "Watch for those news releases. There is no statewide effort. Nothing is moving statewide at the same time, so it's important to listen to your local healthcare providers and First District."

There is no signup list for the vaccine, she stressed.

"We'll just communicate when it is available. So I can assure you that we are doing everything we can to get the vaccine in - and out to these priority groups - as soon as possible. The vaccine will not be sitting in our fridges. As soon as it arrives, we will have plans to get it out," she said.

Clute said high-priority individuals also should hear from their healthcare providers when they become eligible for vaccination.

She said most front-line healthcare workers in the seven counties who wanted vaccines have received them, and pharmacies should have completed vaccinations in long-term care facilities by the third week of January.

Meanwhile, the number of positive tests has been declining.

"We have come a long way here, and I just have to applaud everybody in the community for all of their efforts," Clute said. "We're seeing less impact to the hospitals, to the funeral homes. It has been very good to see, and I think all of us are breathing a sigh of relief."

However, she noted higher positivity rates are occurring with the rapid tests being conducted at the drive-through at Minot's Fire Station #1, which continues through this week.

"So it's important that we continue to be vigilant," she said.

First District Health Unit has seen decreased demand for the PCR testing. The health unit was testing 130 to 150 individuals a day during the peak, while Trinity Health was testing 150 to 200 individuals a day.

First District has adjusted its testing hours and is taking registrations for 8:30 a.m. to noon, starting today.

"That will still allow all of the opportunities for those that are wanting PCR, but it will also free up some of our resources to focus more on the vaccine," Clute said.

First District continues to offer mass testing, which will happen next week on Monday and Tuesday at Minot State University. First District will be offering testing at Dakota College at Bottineau on Wednesday and White Shield on Thursday of next week.