More than 1,000 appointments were still available Monday for free COVID-19 vaccination clinics Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Yellowstone County. These clinics are organized by the Yellowstone County Unified Health Command (UHC), which includes St. Vincent Healthcare, Billings Clinic, RiverStone Health and Yellowstone County Disaster and Emergency Services. UHC partners and the Montana National Guard are staffing the clinics.
Advance appointments are required for all clinics and can be made online at mtreadyclinic.org. This week’s schedule includes:
· Tuesday from 8 to 10:30 a.m. at the St. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church, 16 South Corner Road, in Ballantine. Advance appointments are required and can be made online at mtreadyclinic.org or by phoning the RiverStone Health Clinic in Worden at 406.967.2255.
· Wednesday from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at Cedar Hall at MetraPark.
· Thursday from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at Cedar Hall at MetraPark.
· Friday from 8 a.m. to noon at Cedar Hall at MetraPark.
At this time, the UHC clinics are prioritizing Yellowstone County Residents in the 1A, 1B and 1B+ groups. If you are 60 or older or otherwise eligible in these priority groups, you are strongly encouraged to make an appointment for this week. On April 1, approximately 90,000 additional Yellowstone County residents will become eligible for vaccination when clinics are scheduled to open to everyone age 16 and older.
The vaccine given at the Ballantine and Cedar Hall clinics is allocated to Yellowstone County by the state of Montana from its federal allotment.
RiverStone Health, the county’s public health agency, has offered some of the county’s vaccine allotment to other state-approved providers in efforts to administer protection as quickly as possible to Yellowstone County residents. Since the beginning of March, RiverStone Health redistributed 200 first doses of Moderna vaccine to St. John’s United.
Also since the first of the month, RiverStone Health has provided 2,800 first doses of Moderna vaccine and 100 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine free of charge to Pharm406. Pharm406 plans to hold clinics at apartment complexes serving low-income seniors, including Prairie Tower, South 40 and Starner Gardens.
Administrative fees may be charged for vaccine that has been redistributed to other vaccination providers. The administrative fees may be billed to insurance. COVID-19 vaccinations facilitated through the UHC remain free of charge.
RiverStone Health will continue to work with other community organizations to help ensure that those most vulnerable, homebound seniors, home health patients and others, are able to be easily vaccinated against COVID-19.