Some vaccine suppliers, including public health facilities in Burleigh and Morton counties, have already opened eligibility for the general public, but other suppliers are still focusing on Phase 1C, which includes essential workers and adults with underlying diseases.
The Pfizer vaccine is approved for emergency use in people aged 16 and over, while the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for people aged 18 and over.
State immunization coordinator Molly Howell said 16- and 17-year-olds may have a harder time finding appointments than adults because they can only apply for the Pfizer vaccine and most of these doses are being distributed in urban areas for reasons logistics. Howell recommended that North Dakota residents aged 16 to 17 look for Pfizer’s vaccine administration sites at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine locator: https://vaccinefinder.org/search/.
Howell said the authorities decided to open access to the vaccine because many North Dakota residents were unsure whether they would qualify for the vaccine under Phase 1C’s broad definitions of essential workers and underlying conditions. Confusion about meeting eligibility requirements may be reducing demand for the vaccine, although there may also be more skepticism about immunization among newly eligible young adults, Howell said.
As eligibility requirements will soon end, state officials are asking North Dakota residents to do their part to help the state achieve collective immunity against COVID-19. Howell noted that the faster the state achieves collective immunity, the faster it can eliminate recommendations for masking and social detachment.
Howell said that residents who fall into priority groups, such as health professionals, residents of nursing homes and people with underlying illnesses, should still seek the vaccine if they have not yet received the vaccines.
Alaska and Mississippi have already expanded the vaccine’s eligibility to the general population, while some states have announced plans to expand access to the vaccine in the coming weeks.
North Dakota is a national leader in efficient vaccine distribution, with a total of 326,849 vaccines administered. About 16% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated and 27% have already received the first dose.
Health experts say the positive effects of mass vaccination are already evident in nursing homes in North Dakota, where more than 90% of residents have received at least one injection.
More than half of the state’s COVID-19 deaths occurred in long-term care facilities, but infection and death rates among residents fell rapidly after the state’s November peak and have remained extraordinarily low since vaccines were made available to the group. . There are currently only six residents of nursing homes with COVID-19.
Scientists are still researching whether the available COVID-19 vaccines are effective against emerging strains of the virus from the UK, South Africa, Brazil and California, but state director of disease control Kirby Kruger said the first signs are good.
Although none of the vaccines are approved for children under the age of 16, Howell said that parents should be on the lookout for news about ongoing vaccine testing in adolescents. Howell said the COVID-19 vaccine could be authorized for children as early as this summer.
The health department urges residents to seek more information at www.health.nd.gov/covidvaccinelocator.
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