Flathead County on par with other large counties for Tier 1B vaccinations

Vaccine data from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services shows that since the state entered into Phase 1B of the governor’s COVID-19 immunization plan in January, Flathead County has kept up with other large counties throughout the state in terms of the number of doses administered.

Data specific to Phase 1B efforts, which formally launched Jan. 18, was provided to the Daily Inter Lake by state health department officials. While the state releases regular reports showing county-by-county vaccine administration data, the numbers in those reports are cumulative for Phases 1A and 1B.

Experts say data in the regular report do not provide an accurate picture as to where vaccination efforts currently stand because some areas of the state have most likely been vaccinating individuals at rates much faster than when efforts first began in December.

Such is the case in Flathead County, where the state’s regular reports show the area has administered roughly 177 doses per 1,000 residents — a figure that is far below other counties’ cumulative numbers. But when analyzing Phase 1B data only, Flathead County’s rate is actually around 243 doses per 1,000 residents — a number that puts Flathead County on par with Montana’s other top 10 most populous counties and is reflective of current efforts.

So, while Flathead County was vaccinating fewer individuals during Phase 1A, which included health-care personnel most at-risk for contracting the virus, the county has been playing catchup during its efforts to immunize individuals in Phase 1B, a leg of the vaccination plan that includes a much larger pool of residents than Phase 1A.

“The numbers from the state don’t really provide the entire picture on where vaccine efforts currently stand. It really gives you a snapshot of how many doses have gone into arms overall, but our local efforts have really ramped up since we started in on Tier 1B people,” said Joe Russell, health officer for the Flathead City-County Health Department. “As it stands, we are doing what other areas are doing, even though the numbers don’t necessarily reflect that.”

Russell said understanding the full picture of where the county stands with vaccination efforts is important, as it can determine how many doses are sent to the area on a regular basis from the state. For example, if a county is struggling to administer its allotment of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, it may receive a smaller shipment next time, a decrease that, ultimately, will slow down the state’s entire immunization process.

The Flathead City-County Health Department, in partnership with Kalispell Regional Healthcare, is currently administering just under 140 doses per hour at the local Flathead County Fairgrounds clinic. The clinic is open three days per week for about nine hours per day, and will occasionally host an additional clinic if there is enough surplus vaccine to do so.

Russell said the team at the fairgrounds has the capacity to do around 150 doses per hour, but he said the current pace is “comfortable,” in that it allows those moving through the vaccination system to maintain social distancing and will not lead to burnout among staff and volunteers.

“I’m cognizant that we will be at this for a while,” Russell said. “What we don’t want to run into is our people being fatigued right out of the gate. We’re moving quickly, but we have a long way to go still.”

Russell said the health department is still chipping away at its backlog of people looking to receive their shots. He said the health department needs to schedule appointments for around 2,500 individuals that are on the waitlist, down from approximately 8,000 one month ago.

As of Monday, state data shows Flathead County has administered nearly 15,000 doses, and approximately 4,800 residents are fully immunized, meaning they have received both shots. Russell said he anticipates that fully immunized number to increase rapidly in the coming weeks. That is due in part to Flathead County receiving more trays of the Pfizer vaccine than they do of the Moderna product. The Pfizer vaccine requires its recipients wait three weeks in between doses as opposed to the four weeks required for the Moderna, which means folks reach their fully immunized state quicker when receiving the Pfizer shot.

Overall, Montana has administered more than 240,000 doses and nearly 82,000 people are fully immunized. And according to a recent press release from the state health department, local jurisdictions received nearly 21,000 COVID-19 first doses and nearly 17,000 second doses over the course of this week alone.

While those numbers seem impressive, Montana has received one of the lowest allotments of vaccine per capita in the country, according to Centers for Disease Control data. State leaders, including Gov. Greg Gianforte and Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont) and Jon Tester (D-Mont), have pushed to increase the state’s allocation in recent weeks.

In a letter to President Joe Biden earlier this week, Gianforte demanded an increase in supply, stating “Montana has been successful consistently in getting shots into the arms of our most vulnerable.”

That success was highlighted in a recent report from National Public Radio showing Montana is one of the most efficient states in the nation for administering doses received by the federal government. That information, according to the report, was based on federal data from the CDC.

The report was updated on Friday and shows approximately 16% of the state’s population has received at least one dose, and at least 7% of the population is fully immunized. Only nine states boast a better track record, including Alaska, New Mexico, Wyoming and Hawaii.

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine, or to submit an online request form to be vaccinated in Flathead County, go to https://www.flatheadhealth.org/

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com