CHESTER, Mont. (NMB) – Liberty County Public Health has announced that they are currently providing COVID-19 vaccines to Montanans at least 18 years of age.
Public Health Director Melissa Kantorowicz says they have exhausted their wait list of Liberty County residents, and they want to get the vaccine into Montanans’ arms as quickly as possible.
“Local residents have priority over other county residents. But we are opening it up to everyone because we want to get it out in people’s arms so we can vaccinate anyone who is willing to receive a vaccine at this point…There is no designated dose per week (from the state), it’s based on what the state has. At this point, we haven’t requested any because we are having a hard time finding arms to put the current vaccine that’s in our freezer in people’s arms. And I don’t want to be hoarding it, because vaccine in our fridge does nobody any good. It needs to be out distributed. That’s the reason we’re advertising it. We want anybody who wants the vaccine to have it, because we have it available.”
Kantorowitcz says Liberty County’s Health Department has distributed nearly 1,000 Moderna vaccines, and almost 100 Johnson & Johnson vaccines. She says despite some skepticism from the public, these vaccines have proven to be safe and effective.
“Any vaccine that you are eligible to receive is better than none. Currently, our children aren’t going to be able to receive the vaccine for quite a while. So in order to protect our children and people who are unable to receive the vaccine, the best case is to receive a vaccine so we can keep everybody healthy and hopefully decrease that load on our healthcare system.”
As of Tuesday morning, the Department had about 100 Moderna vaccines available, as well as a handful of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. To get an appointment scheduled, call 759-5517 and leave your name and phone number.
The Moderna vaccine comes in two doses which must be spread out by four weeks. County Health Departments already have second doses allocated to ensure everyone who receives a first dose is able to get a second.
