COVID-19 vaccination plan coordination team announced
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News from DPHHS
MONTANA — The Department of Public Health and Human Services announced the formation of the COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Coordination Team last week, which is comprised of key stakeholders from various sectors across the state, many are already established COVID-19 crisis response partners.
“Montana continues to tighten its preparations for a successful distribution of COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available,” said Bekki Wehner, head of the DPHHS Communicable Disease Control and Emergency Preparedness Bureau. “I appreciate all those who have agreed to serve on the coordination team to ensure that a broad range of Montana organizations are represented. The team’s guidance, feedback and insights on the state’s draft distribution plan will be invaluable in the ongoing planning and implementation efforts.”
The coordination team held the first meeting virtually on Nov. 24. DPHHS officials provided the team with an overview of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan, an update on vaccine provider enrollment, long-term care facility and pharmacy partnerships, update on vaccine types, tribal jurisdiction allocations, how doses will be tracked, the vaccine authorization process and initial vaccine allocation recommendations.
The over 60-member team includes a broad range of organizations representing health systems and hospitals, local county health departments, tribal governments, long-term care facilities, correctional facilities, emergency management services, rural health clinics, pharmacies, business and occupational health organizations, individuals with disabilities, educational agencies and providers, religious leaders, organizations serving racial and ethnic minorities and people with limited English proficiency and community representatives.
The team specifically includes those who represent individuals most at-risk for COVID-19. Based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, phase one of the state’s vaccine distribution plan calls for the initial limited vaccine supply to be offered to people at the highest risk of life-threatening infection. Those included in phase one are frontline healthcare workers, the elderly, those with underlying medical conditions and those at increased risk such as tribal communities, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings.
Key roles for the coordination team will be communication with their constituents and partners to ensure they have current information about when the vaccine will arrive in the state, training that will be available to providers about how to properly handle and store the vaccine and coordination regarding outreach to critical at-risk populations identified to receive the vaccine in phase one.
