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The state began administering the vaccines on Monday, December 14, and in just four days, 3,068 vaccinations were administered statewide, according to the North Dakota Department of Health.
North Dakota has already received 6,825 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and the state has placed an order for 13,200 Moderna vaccines. He will receive them shortly after the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is cleared by the Federal Drug Administration for emergency use, which is expected to occur in the coming days.
Mollie Howell, the state’s immunization official, told a press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 16 that the general public will likely not have access to the vaccine until spring, as it prioritizes workers in the primary health and long-term care. residents of the facility.
Howell said the state hopes to receive 40,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine before the end of the year and that it intends to start vaccinating residents of long-term care facilities from December 27.
Howell and Governor Doug Burgum are encouraging residents of North Dakota to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible.
On Friday, December 18, the state health ministry announced 21 more deaths from COVID-19 and a slight decrease in hospitalizations.
Friday’s deaths bring the overall death toll from COVID-19 in the state to 1,225 North Dakotans.
The number of active cases and the number of hospitalizations in North Dakota have steadily declined over the past month, and although the number of COVID-19 deaths has remained high, Burgum said the death rate remains high. was due to a backlog of reports. The state reported 144 hospitalizations with COVID-19 on Friday, which is a decrease of nearly 60% from hospitalizations a month ago.
November was by far the deadliest month in the state with 486 deaths occurring in the month alone. The month of December has already seen at least 171 deaths from COVID-19, according to the Department of Health.
The deaths announced on Friday were residents of 12 counties, all between the ages of 60 and 90.
North Dakota will host two free rapid antigen tests in Fargo and Bismarck on Saturday and Sunday, December 19 and 20. For safety reasons, only asymptomatic people should be tested for antigen, according to the state, and those present can receive their test result within 15 minutes via text message.
Those who test positive are advised to self-isolate at home immediately and those who test negative should continue to monitor for symptoms. For more information on each event, visit the North Dakota Department of Health website.
As of Friday, 3,061 North Dakotans were infected with the virus and the number of active cases of COVID-19 in the state has declined steadily over the past month. However, North Dakota still ranks among the highest in the country for the number of COVID-19 deaths per capita over the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC still recommends that Americans stay home and limit travel during the winter holiday season to ensure the safety of family and community members.
As of Friday, 509 new positive cases were reported, including:
- 132 of Cass County, which encompasses Fargo and West Fargo.
- 49 of Burleigh County, which includes Bismarck.
- 34 of County Stark, which includes Dickinson.
About 6% of the 7,543 residents tested in the last batch tested positive, and an average of about 6.5% of those tested in the past two weeks tested positive. Like the active cases, the state’s positivity rate has declined significantly over the past month.
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Readers can reach reporter Michelle Griffith, a member of the Report for America Corps, at [email protected].
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