Booster shots for the Pfizer vaccine are now available for some in Yellowstone County as RiverStone Health reported two new COVID-19-related deaths Friday.
The booster shots will be available from the same pharmacies and clinics that provided the first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine, according to RiverStone.
RiverStone will be following CDC guidelines to determine how to dole out the shots:
- People 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settings should receive a booster.
- People aged 50–64 years with underlying medical conditions should receive a booster. Medical conditions that increase an individual’s risk of serious COVID-19 illness include cancer, organ transplant, immune-compromising conditions, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, pregnancy, obesity, heart disease, HIV, kidney disease, sickle cell anemia, cigarette smoking (current and former) and lung disease. For a more detailed list, go to cdc.gov and search for “underlying conditions”.
- People aged 18–49 with underlying medical conditions may receive a booster shot, based on their individual benefits and risks.
- People aged 18-64 who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may receive a booster shot, based on their individual benefits and risks.
RiverStone encourages everyone who's eligible to get vaccinated. On Thursday, two women died of COVID-19-related illnesses in a Billings hospital. One had been fully vaccinated and had underlying medical conditions. The other victim was in her 70s, wasn’t fully vaccinated and had underlying medical conditions.
Their deaths bring the county’s pandemic toll to 326 lives lost since April 2020.
RiverStone Health encourages people wanting booster shots to attend free, walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics. These clinics also will offer first- and second-doses of Pfizer to people age 12 and older:
· Wednesday, Sept. 29, noon-2 p.m., Billings Public Library Community Room.
· Thursday, Sept. 30, 2-6 p.m. RiverStone Health Clinic, Main Street in Worden.
· Oct. 5, noon-2 p.m., Billings Public Library Community Room.
· Oct. 7, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Healthy By Design Gardeners’ Market, South Park.
· Oct. 9, 9 a.m.-noon, HarvestFest, downtown Billings.
· Oct. 12, noon-2 p.m., Billings Public Library Community Room.
· Oct. 14, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., RiverStone Health, 123 S. 27th St., in the four-story building.
· Oct. 20, noon-2 p.m. Billings Public Library Community Room.
· Oct. 27, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., Billings Public Library Community Room.
A limited number of vaccination appointments are available from the RiverStone Health Immunization Clinic, phone 406.247.3382. More vaccination information is posted at covid.riverstonehealth.org.