BILLINGS - Two additional Yellowstone County residents died on Monday, Nov. 29 of COVID-19 related illness, raising the total deaths in the county during the pandemic to 455.
RiverStone Health reports the most recent Yellowstone County victims to die in a Billings hospital include:
- A man in his 50s who died on November 29. He was unvaccinated and had underlying health conditions.
- A man in his 70s who died on November 29. He was vaccinated and had underlying health conditions.
For the month of November, Billings’ hospitals averaged 93 people a day hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those, an average of 29 people were in the ICU and 20 of them were on ventilators, RiverStone Health said in a press release. Of the average of 93 people hospitalized each day, 75, or 80% were not vaccinated.
Yellowstone County also lost at least 44 residents in November and each, with the exception of one (whose health condition is unknown), had underlying health conditions. Sixty-six percent of the people who died were unvaccinated, the vaccination status for 6% was unknown and 27% of those who died were vaccinated.
The month of December begins with 71 COVID-19 inpatients, including 61 who are not vaccinated. Among the hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 27 are in ICU and 21 are on ventilators.
The safest, most effective way to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 illness and death is to be vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that everyone ages 18 and older get a COVID-19 booster shot 6 months after their initial Pfizer or Moderna series or 2 months after their initial Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
While much is still unknown about the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the first case of the variant has been identified in the United States. Vaccination, including boosters, is the best tool to avoid serious illness and hospitalization.
December vaccination clinics
RiverStone Health will host the following vaccination clinics in the month of December.
- December 2, 4 – 6:30 p.m. in Cedar Hall at MetraPark.
- December 4, 9 a.m. – noon in Cedar Hall at MetraPark. Family and pediatric clinic.
- December 9, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at RiverStone Health, 123 S. 27th in the four-story building.
- December 11, 9 a.m. – noon in Cedar Hall at MetraPark. Family and pediatric clinic.
- December 30, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at RiverStone Health, 123 S. 27th, in the four-story building.
Masks are required at all vaccination clinics. Children under 18 must have signed parental consent for vaccination. All clinics offer the three U.S. approved COVID-19 vaccines.
Last week for drive-through testing
This is the last week for the free, drive-through community testing site in the St. Vincent Healthcare parking lot M at North 28th Street and 11th Avenue North. The testing site is open on Thursday and Friday, December 2 and 3 from 9 a.m. until noon. For additional testing options, go to covid.riverstonehealth.org and look under “I need to be tested for COVID-19”.