Health officials: the time to get vaccinated is now
COVID-19 vaccines wait to be administered during a clinic at the Flathead County Fairgrounds on Thursday, Jan. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Flathead County health officials are urging any eligible individual who is interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, but has held off on making an appointment, to request their shot today.
Beginning in May, the Flathead City-County Health Department, in partnership with Kalispell Regional Healthcare, will administer COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. And in an effort to make the vaccine more accessible, the fairgrounds clinic will be accepting walk-in patients on Tuesday, May 4, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
In addition, a news release from the health department said Kalispell Regional Healthcare has assembled a mobile team that will administer shots on-site for larger workplaces and organizations in Flathead County.
“Our goal is to get vaccines into our community as widely and efficiently as possible,” Health Officer Joe Russell said. “Given a review of local data, there are still many eligible people in Flathead County that have not been reached. We want to emphasize that now is the time to receive a vaccine. We have ample supply and individuals who sign up can expect minimal wait times before receiving an appointment.”
The health department’s online COVID-19 dashboard shows 83,831 Flathead County residents are vaccine-eligible. As of Thursday afternoon, only 25.5% of those individuals, or roughly 21,000 people, have been fully vaccinated.
“It’s all about protection and prevention,” Russell said. “Choosing to get the vaccine provides you protection against the virus, and higher vaccination rates can help our community stay healthy and keep our schools and businesses open.”
All Montanans ages 16 and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
An easy way to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Flathead County is by using the online vaccination form located on the health department’s website at https://www.flatheadhealth.org/vaccine-request-form/
Information about vaccine distribution may change rapidly. For updated weekly information, please visit the Flathead City-County Health Department COVID-19 Vaccine website.