(RiverStone Health Press Release)
BILLINGS - Do you have a high school graduation coming up next month? Want to travel safely for a summer vacation? Looking forward to a time when you can have friends and extended family over for a meal without worrying about exposure to COVID-19?
Schedule your first, free COVID-19 vaccination for this Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday at MetraPark, so you can be completely immunized by May 13. That means you will have 95% protection against any COVID-19 infection and 100% protection against serious illness or death, according to clinical trials involving thousands of Americans and the latest research published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
How can you get fully immunized?
1. Schedule your first dose of Pfizer vaccine for Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday at Cedar Hall at MetraPark. Make an appointment online at mtreadyclinic.org. Scroll down to find links for each of the five MetraPark clinics. Some clinics are listed on page 2. A smaller number of appointments for the week are available by calling 406.651.6596.
2. Most people are leaving the clinic vaccinated within 30 minutes of going in the door.
3. Get your second Pfizer dose three weeks later at the Shrine Auditorium, 1125 Broadwater Ave. The second dose will be scheduled for the same time of day and day of the week as your first dose.
4. Two weeks after your second COVID-19 vaccination, you will be fully immunized. The CDC says fully immunized people can safely travel, can safely visit with other fully immunized people indoors without masks and can even visit with people who aren’t immunized. (Those who aren’t fully immunized still need to wear masks when within 6 feet of people who don’t live in their household. Everyone still should wash their hands frequently.)
More than 1,800 appointments were still available on Monday for this week’s free COVID-19 clinics sponsored by RiverStone Health, Billings Clinic, St. Vincent Healthcare and Yellowstone County Disaster and Emergency Services. The Montana National Guard is assisting with these clinics.
Appointments are available to all Yellowstone County residents age 16 and older. Individuals under age 18 must have a vaccination consent form signed by a parent or guardian. Consent forms are available at covid.riverstonehealth.org under COVID-19 Vaccine Information.