Montana moves to Phase 1B of Governor Gianforte’s Montana Covid-19 Vaccine Allocation Plan. Phase 1B includes:

• Persons aged 70 years or older
• Persons aged 16-69 with high-risk medical conditions.
• Others at elevated risk such as Native Americans and people of color

High-Risk Medical Conditions include cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, down syndrome, heart conditions, severe obesity, immunocompromised individuals, sickle cell disease, type 1 &2 diabetes, and individuals identified by medical providers.

If you meet any of these requirements, please get vaccinated. A vaccination is important for us to stop the pandemic. Wearing masks and physical distancing reduces your chances of being exposed or exposing others to the virus. Vaccinations will help your immune system fight the virus if you are exposed. Some estimates say that 60-70% of the population needs to be vaccinated to end the pandemic.

The Cascade City/County Health Department has an update available with information on receiving vaccinations. The address is https://www.cascadecountymt.gov/462/COVID-19-Vaccination.

According to the Health Department, vaccines are available to people 70 and older. This round of vaccination begins on Thursday, January 21 at 9:00 a.m.

Please do not contact the vaccination centers yet; the health department and vaccination providers are swamped and need to prepare for the next round of vaccinations. The links to vaccinations will be provided on Thursday at 9 am.

Additional information from the website states:

Number of Appointment Slots that will Open: 

1,500 total, including appointments on the following dates:

• Monday, January 25
• Wednesday, January 27
• Friday, January 29

Scheduling Process and Eligibility

The Cascade City-County Health Department, Benefis Health System, Alluvion, and the Great Falls Clinic are working together to begin offering the COVID-19 vaccine to community members age 70 and older.  

Who:

Montana’s 1B vaccination tier has been defined to include anyone who is age 70 or older or meets certain other health criteria. However, given that the number of Cascade County residents who fall into tier 1B currently exceeds vaccine supply, we are limiting vaccine administration to only those who are age 70 and older at this time.  

How:

• Appointment slots will be scheduled online and filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so community members who are eligible should go online to schedule as soon as possible to secure their slots. You will be required to provide a valid email address to book your appointment.
• The vaccine consists of two doses. You will be scheduled for your second dose of the vaccine at the time your first dose is administered. Second doses will occur 3-5 weeks after the first doses, so please anticipate your future availability when scheduling your first dose. 
• If you do not arrive as scheduled for either your first or second dose appointment, your appointment will not be automatically rescheduled. 
• You will not be permitted to schedule your second vaccine dose online yourself.

Where:

• Vaccinations will take place at the Family Living Center of the Montana Expo Park at 400 3^rd St. NW in Great Falls.
• You must pre-schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine. If you do not have an appointment, you will be turned away. 
• You must present a valid form of identification at the scheduled time of your vaccine. If your identification indicates that you are not age 70 or older, you will be turned away even if you have an appointment.

Other Information: 

• We expect it to take four weeks to administer the first dose of the two-dose vaccine to everyone who falls into tier 1B. Future vaccination dates, times, and number of available slots will be published as they are available.  
• Community members vaccinated through this process will not get a choice regarding which brand of vaccine is administered. 

We will keep you updated as the phases change.