Montana could receive first vaccine doses by Dec. 15

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Wednesday that the state could receive around 9,750 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by drug company Pfizer as soon as Dec. 15.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have applied for emergency authorization for their vaccine. Once authorization is granted, the state is slated to receive thousands of additional doses of the vaccines in subsequent weeks, Bullock said.

The state has between 45,000 and 60,000 health care workers and 10,000 residents and staff members at long term care facilities, who will have first access to the vaccine once it is available. The focus of the first allotment will be health care workers, the governor said.

The state will train providers to administer the vaccines, and will work with local pharmacies to distribute the vaccine.

Bullock said during a news conference that the state is slated to use all $1.25 billion federal coronavirus relief dollars allocated to the state in the spring, and called on Congress to pass another relief measure to assist the state address economic and health-related challenges once the deadline for spending the original allocation passes at the end of the month.

"This is a storm that cannot be weathered without federal support," Bullock said.

The state's business stabilization grants were the most in-demand grant program offered through the coronavirus relief fund, Bullock said. The state allocated $254 million in three rounds of funding to local businesses through the program.

Local governments, which were originally slated to receive $300 million in reimbursements for coronavirus-related expenses, will receive closer to $200 million, the governor said, because local governments had less eligible expenses than expected.

Coronavirus relief funds were recently used to hire medical workers from outside the state to assist in some of Montana's hardest-hit communities, where hospitals are straining under the weight of high COVID-19 case volumes. As of Monday, 229 contracted health care workers arrived in the state, with the possibility of more to arrive in the coming weeks.

Hospitals in Cascade County and Yellowstone County remained above 90% capacity on Tuesday, according to a report prepared by the state health department.

More than 64,000 people across Montana have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since March, including 937 new cases reported Wednesday. The true number is likely far higher because not everyone is tested and some people can be infected without showing symptoms.

The state has reported 713 deaths due to the virus, and 478 people were hospitalized with it Wednesday.

For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for some — especially older adults and people with health problems — it can cause more severe illness and death.

Samuels is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.