As the pandemic continues to move through the state, and despite a vaccine shortage nationwide, UM and the Missoula County COVID-19 Vaccine Coordination Team partnered up to organize the county’s first public COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Adams Center on Sunday, Jan. 31.
The vaccines were free of charge with no medical insurance required, although they encouraged people to bring in their insurance cards so an administration fee could be billed to their insurers, Holloway said.
Holloway said more public vaccination clinics are slated for the future depending on when the next shipment of vaccines arrives to Missoula.
“We are expecting to receive approximately 1,500 first doses each week for the foreseeable future,” he said.
Skaggs School of Pharmacy students and staff were part of the team that administered the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Phase 1B recipients.
The vaccination clinic was intended for people who do not have a regular healthcare provider, along with priority residents who qualify for Phase 1a and Phase 1b under the state’s vaccination plan.
Under the Montana COVID-19 vaccination plan, Phase 1B includes all people who are 70 years or older, Native Americans or people of color who have a higher risk of contracting the virus, and people 16 and older with high-risk medical conditions.
A patient receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic held at the Adams Center on Jan. 31, 2021. The Missoula County COVID-19 Vaccine Coordination Team, in partnership with the University of Montana’s School of Pharmacy, organized the county’s first free public vaccine clinic for residents who qualify for Phase 1a and priority recipients in Phase 1b of Montana’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan. People who met the county’s criteria were told to apply online for a vaccination appointment prior to arriving at the Adams Center.
Patients inside the Adams Center on Sunday, Jan. 31 to fill out paperwork and are given information about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. The Missoula County COVID-19 Vaccine Coordination Team said the public vaccine clinic is free regardless of whether people have health insurance and is intended for residents who do not have regular healthcare providers.
Brennan Kappes, a second-year pharmacy student, waits for a COVID-19 vaccine recipient. The Missoula County COVID-19 Vaccine Coordination Team said they were going to administer around 400 first-dose vaccines to Phase 1a and Phase 1b recipients.
Missoula Fire Department Chief Jeff Brandt greets and escorts a woman to the entrance of the Adams Center. “Everybody’s in a great mood and on time to get to their vaccination appointments,” Brandt said.
University of Montana pharmacy student LynDee Feisthamel poses for a portrait at the Adams Center after administering a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to a Missoula County resident. “It’s very exciting and emotional to be able to participate in the vaccination process and help out my community,” she said.
A man sits in the waiting area after receiving his first dose of the vaccine. Patients were told to wait 15 minutes after getting vaccinated to see if they develop any side effects from the vaccine, Sunday Jan. 31. Common side effects may include flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, tiredness or headache.
Cory Horsens of the Missoula County COVID-19 Vaccine Coordination Team disinfects a chair in the waiting area of the vaccine clinic, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2020.
Pharmacy student LynDee Feisthamel gives a COVID-19 vaccination card to a patient after administering his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This was Feisthamel’s second time vaccinating patients during the pandemic.
