Pfizer vaccine coming to Hill County Health Department

Hill County Health Department has announced that it will have a supply of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in stock next week and is inviting people to call to sign up for its vaccination clinic at the health department on the third Tuesday of the month, next Tuesday.

Hill County Health Officer Kim Berg said the department still has Moderna vaccine as well.

People can call 406-400-2415 to schedule an appointment.

To date, the Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved in the U.S. for use on people younger than 18.1

U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to people 12 and older.

Moderna and Johnson & Johnson also have been testing their vaccines for use in people 12 and older, and Pfizer and Moderna are holding tests for children 6 months and older and Johnson & Johnson has said it also plans to conduct tests for those ages.

To date, the only emergency use authorization for people younger than 18 is in the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have received emergency use authorization for people 18 and older.

People have had access to the Pfizer vaccine already. The health departments at Rocky Boy’s and Fort Belknap Indian reservations have had that vaccine for months, and have offered it to people not associated with the reservation and provided it for clinics in Havre, Harlem and Chinook.

The Chouteau County Health Department announced June 3 that it also had access to the Pfizer vaccine, and the Liberty County Health Department also said it has the Pfizer vaccine.

The region has had an uptick in cases in the past few weeks, including multiple school-age people being confirmed with COVID-19.