HELENA — Lewis & Clark Public Health announced the first doses of COVID-19 vaccinations for individuals in Phase 1b, Tier 1 will begin next week with two drive-thru clinics. Phase 1b, Tier 1 individuals include all Lewis & Clark County residents aged 70 and over, and eligible healthcare workers in Phase 1a.
Pre-registration will be required for all community members in these phases and tiers.
The two drive-thru clinics will be held at the Lewis & Clark County fairgrounds on Tuesday, January 19th and Wednesday, January 20th, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Based on available vaccine supplies, a maximum of 450 vaccinations will be administered on each day.
To better serve the community and efficiently distribute vaccinations, Public Health says individuals must secure a free, timed ticket to the event and provide a photo ID for proof of age and showing an address in Lewis & Clark County. If the photo ID provided does not have an address, such as a U.S. Passport, individuals can present a utility bill, phone bill, or another document with a Lewis & Clark County address.
There is a limit of one ticket per individual and tickets cannot be traded. Individuals can reserve tickets based on availability of time slots.
The registration site for the clinics are hosted on Eventbrite. Links to the events can be found on the Lewis & Clark Public Health COVID-19 Hub at www.helenamontanamaps.org/LCPHCovid19HUB/, or on Lewis & Clark Public Health’s website at www.lccountymt.gov and look for the ‘COVID-19 Hub’ link on the main page.
Registration for both clinics will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, January 15, and end when tickets are exhausted.
Rocky Mountain Development Council Area IV Agency on Aging has volunteered to provide seniors who have access barriers to the online ticketing system with a call center at 406-447-1680. Public Health has advised MTN News that this phone number is not intended for the general public, but for those 70+ who have access barriers to using the Eventbrite website. The call center will operate beginning Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Beginning Monday, January 18th, PureView’s drive-thru COVID-19 testing will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Monday-Friday at the fairgrounds.
Public Health says Phase 1b includes a very large number of eligible individuals, and because current weekly, local vaccine allocation is limited, the county will continue to roll out Phase 1b vaccination eligibility by tiered priority within the population. More details on those clinics and any changes to priority populations will be released at a later date.
Other clinics are being planned for all priority populations in Phase 1b. Community members are urged to be patient as the local team rolls out vaccination to the county. These include mobile clinics for those with mobility issues.
