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Some vaccine vendors, including Burleigh and Morton County Public Health Units, have already opened eligibility to the general public, but other vendors are still focusing on Phase 1C, which includes essential workers and adults. suffering from underlying diseases.
The Pfizer vaccine is approved for emergency use in those 16 and over, while the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for those 18 and over.
National immunization coordinator Molly Howell said 16- and 17-year-olds may have a harder time finding appointments than adults because they can only sign up for the Pfizer vaccine and most of these doses are administered in urban areas for logistical reasons. Howell recommended that 16- and 17-year-old North Dakotans search for Pfizer-administered vaccination sites on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine research site: https://vaccinefinder.org/search/.
Howell said officials decided to open up access to the vaccine because many North Dakotans were unsure whether they qualified for the vaccine under the general Phase 1C definitions of essential workers and sub-conditions. underlying. Confusion over meeting eligibility requirements may lower demand for the vaccine, although there may also be more skepticism about getting the vaccine among newly eligible young adults, Howell said.
With eligibility requirements soon being removed, state officials are urging North Dakotans to do their part to help the state achieve collective immunity from COVID-19. Howell noted that the sooner the state achieves collective immunity, the sooner it could get rid of masking and social distancing recommendations.
Howell said residents who are in priority groups, such as healthcare workers, nursing home residents, and people with underlying illnesses, should always seek the vaccine if they haven’t already. get vaccinated.
Alaska and Mississippi have already expanded vaccine eligibility to the general population, while a handful of states have announced plans to expand vaccine access in the coming weeks.
North Dakota is a national leader in the efficient distribution of vaccines, with a total of 326,849 vaccines administered. About 16% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated and 27% have received the first dose.
Health experts say the positive effects of mass vaccination are already evident in nursing homes in North Dakota, where more than 90% of residents have received at least one vaccine.
More than half of COVID-19 deaths in the state have been in long-term care facilities, but infection and death rates among residents have plummeted after the state’s November peak and have remained extremely low since vaccines became available to the group. There are currently only six nursing home residents known to have COVID-19.
Scientists are still investigating whether the available COVID-19 vaccines are effective against emerging strains of the virus from the UK, South Africa, Brazil and California, but state disease control director Kirby Kruger , said the first signs were good.
While none of the vaccines are approved for children under the age of 16, Howell said parents should stay tuned for news about ongoing vaccine trials in adolescents. Howell said the COVID-19 vaccine could be licensed for children as early as this summer.
The health department urges residents to seek more information at www.health.nd.gov/covidvaccinelocator.
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