COVID-19 VACCINE UPDATE 1/5/2021

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Following the CDC ACIP interim recommendation for groups to be vaccinated in Phase 1b, Blackfeet Community Hospital will offer the COVID-19 vaccine to persons age 75 years and older. Please watch for future vaccine phase updates.

Vaccination will take place at Blackfeet Community Hospital on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, from 8:00AM-4:30PM.

You will be contacted by Blackfeet Community Hospital with your appointment time and place. If you have not been contacted, please call 338-6305 or 338-6304.

Please enter at the South/Administration doors. Stop at the screening table. You will then be escorted to the clinic. Please wear a mask at all times.

Call the South Clinic at 338-6305 or the COVID line at 338-6304 if you have any questions.

Allocations of COVID-19 vaccine are made weekly to the Billings Area Indian Health Service (IHS). As vaccines are received, IHS is distributing and administering vaccine consistent with guidance provided by the CDC and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices:

  • Phase 1a: health care personnel and long term care facility residents
  • Phase 1b: persons 75 years and older and frontline essential workers (first responders, teachers, food and agriculture, manufacturing, correction workers, U.S. Postal Service, public transit, and grocery store workers)
  • Phase 1c: people aged 65 to 74 years old and people 16 to 64 years old who have high-risk medical conditions, and other essential workers
  • Phase 2: all other persons aged ≥16 years not already recommended for vaccination in Phases 1a, 1b, or 1c
It will take time to deliver and administer the vaccine. Until then, we must continue to diligently prevent the spread of COVID-19 by consistently practicing the 3 Ws: Wear a mask, Watch your distance, Wash your hands.

Ordinance 121 and Stay at Home Orders Extended

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The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council, on December 29, 2020, by resolution, has extended Tribal Ordinance 121 until September 30, 2021. The Blackfeet Incident Command has extended the Stay At Home Order until January 14, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.

 

EXPLAINING THE EXTENSION:

  • There seems to be confusion on the extension of Tribal Ordinance 121. This extension is to allow the Incident Command Team to continue, as well as other items under the CARES Act. Also, it requires face masks, social distancing, and other CDC regulations.
  • The Stay At Home Order is a phased plan that allows for the reservation to open up gradually as cases continue to decline or remain closed as they increase. This is decided on in 2 week increments by the Incident Command.
  • The reservation businesses are governed under a Tribal Business Order which is changed on an as needed basis.
  • The closure to the east side of Glacier National Park is a separate issue that will be worked on by the Tribe and Glacier Park in the near future. No plans for a 2021 closure have been decided on.
  • With the vaccine now available, the Tribe will continue to revisit the ordinance and resolution based on the safety of the residents of the Blackfeet Reservation. Dates are only used as a planning mechanism and may be changed as needed.

Remember, we are still in a world wide pandemic and we need to continue to work together to be safe.

COVID-19 Vaccine Update

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  • Following the CDC ACIP interim recommendation for groups to be vaccinated, Blackfeet Community Hospital will offer the COVID-19 vaccine to those persons 75 years and older (phase 1b).
  • Vaccination will take place at Blackfeet Community Hospital on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, from 8:00AM-4:30PM.
  • You will be contacted by Blackfeet Community Hospital with your appointment time and place.
  • Please enter at the South/Administration doors. Stop at the screening table. You will then be escorted to the clinic. Please wear a mask at all times.
  • Call the South Clinic at 338-6305 if you have any questions.

Understanding the COVID-19 Vaccine distribution

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Here is a quick guide to understanding how the vaccine will be given and to who. There are limited amounts available and the manufacturers are working very hard to get the vaccine out to everyone. Indian Health Services across the country have received limited amounts. The CDC has set guidelines on who will receive the COVID-19 Vaccine first. They have set a phased system that is being followed by local health officials, including the Blackfeet Reservation.

Phase 1a is for all healthcare workers and residents in nursing homes/long term care facilities including workers. They have started receiving the vaccine.

Phase 1b is for essential workers, police, fire fighters, food workers, postal workers, teachers, and day care workers. Also, people 75 and older will be part of this phase.

Phase 1c is for people ages 65-74 and also for people with health conditions ages 16-64. It is also for essential workers such as transportation, communications, media, public health and safety.

As the vaccine becomes available, the CDC will continue to expand to more groups and phases. Everyone will be vaccinated. The goal set by the CDC is early summer.

Even with the vaccine, everyone needs to continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the CDC and the Blackfeet Tribe:

1. WEAR A MASK
2. SOCIAL DISTANCE
3. NO LARGE GATHERINGS
4. ESSENTIAL TRAVEL ONLY
5. WASH YOUR HANDS OR USE HAND SANITIZER

COVID-19 Vaccine information

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COVID‐19 Vaccine – 12/23/2020 IHS Blackfeet Service Unit
  • Food and Drug Administration issued the second emergency use authorization to Moderna COVID‐19 Vaccine to be distributed in the U.S for use in individuals 18 years of age and older.
  • The Indian Health Service received 22,425 doses of Pfizer and 46,000 doses of Moderna.
  • In the first two weeks of vaccine distribution, 85,000 doses have been distributed through the IHS to federal, tribal and urban Indian health programs.
  • We need to continue to diligently prevent the spread of COVID‐19 by consistently practicing the 3 Ws: Wear a mask, Watch your distance, Wash your hands
  • With colder weather, and more people indoors – we find that pandemic fatigue is setting in.
  • Maintaining physical distance from those we love is difficult. The holidays are typically a time to reconnect with family and friends. As we are seeing cases of COVID‐19 continue to rise, we must renew our sense of personal accountability to protect ourselves, and those around us.
  • Vaccination is the safest, most effective and most reliable way to keep yourself, your family and your community healthy and safe from COVID‐19.
  • COVID‐19 vaccines are 95% effective and have undergone rigorous safety testing.
  • COVID‐19 vaccines are one of many important tools to help us stop this pandemic.
  • While we begin administering the first doses of this remarkable COVID‐19 vaccine, there are simple measures everyone can practice now to lower spread, decrease risk of severe complications, and move toward safely reopening. Our best immediate defense against #COVID19 is to continue following the 3Ws and getting your flu shot!
  • The IHS has allocated COVID‐19 vaccines to the IHS Areas proportionally based on the number of individuals in the first priority group, which includes health care personnel and long‐term‐care residents as determined by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
  • This would allow IHS to vaccinate 100% of its health care work force and residents of long term care facilities not accounted for by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
  • Health facilities will use the remainder of the Pfizer and Moderna doses to vaccinate the next priority populations in accordance with ACIP guidelines and agreements.
  • December 20, CDC ACIP interim recommendation for groups to be vaccinated:
  • Phase 1b: persons 75 years and older and frontline essential workers (first responders, teachers, food and agriculture, manufacturing, correction workers, U.S. Postal Service, public transit, and grocery store workers) and
  • Phase 1c: people aged 65 to 74 years old and people 16 to 64 years old who have high-risk medical conditions, and other essential workers
  • The task force continues to coordinate vaccine logistics, issue guidance and communications, and prepare for additional vaccine updates.
Sovereign authority of tribal nations:
  • The IHS developed the COVID‐19 Vaccine plan based on The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID‐19 Vaccination Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations, while recognizing the sovereign authority of tribal nations to provide for the welfare of their people.
  • Tribal health programs and urban Indian organizations that chose Indian Health Service for distribution are encouraged to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ACIP guidelines. Currently, we are in Phase 1A, which prioritizes health care workers and residents of long term care facilities.
  • Blackfeet Community Hospital healthcare workers received the first round of vaccine along with the Blackfeet Care Center and Blackfeet EMS on December 23, 2020!

Blackfeet Information Update (video).

COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ

 

 

Blackfeet Tribe preparing for Christmas dinner delivery starting Dec. 12

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PUBLIC NOTICE – DECEMBER 4, 2020

The Blackfeet Tribe is preparing for the Christmas Dinner delivery, hams with all the trimmings and also including toys for tots, beginning December 12, 2020.

All those who need delivery, include: Elderly, sick, handicapped, homebound, quarantined, isolated, and those without transportation.

You may begin calling the COVID-19 Dispatch at (406) 338-2946 or (406) 338-2231 to request deliver. Please give your name, physical address and phone number.

More information will be coming soon on the drive through for each communities.

Stay at Home Order extended to Dec. 20

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PUBLIC NOTICE – DECEMBER 3, 2020

Per the Incident Command & BTBC, the Stay at Home Order has been extended until December 20, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.

  • Only essential travel is allowed (medical & groceries).
  • Masks are required on the Blackfeet Reservation.
  • Follow the CDC guidelines of social distancing, washing your hands/using hand sanitizer, remaining 6 feet apart, staying within your own cohort and no large gatherings.
  • If you feel sick or have been exposed to COVID-19, call (406) 338-6304.
  • If you need supplies, food or wood, please call COVID-19 Dispatch at (406) 338-2231 or (406) 338-2946.