BILLINGS - RiverStone Health reported Friday that four additional Yellowstone County residents have died due to COVID-19 related illness.
The latest victims of the pandemic are:
· A man in his 50s died on Thursday, October 28 in a Billings hospital. He was not vaccinated and had underlying health conditions.
· A man in his 70s died on Thursday, October 28 at a local senior living facility. He was fully vaccinated, but had underlying health conditions.
· A woman in her 80s died on Thursday, October 28 in a Billings hospital. She was fully vaccinated, but had underlying health conditions.
· A man in his 60s died on Friday, October 29 in a Billings hospital. He was not vaccinated and had underlying health conditions.
RiverStone Health officials said in a press release that the number of Yellowstone County residents dying from COVID-19 related illness in October 2021 has surpassed October 2020.
So far, at least 50 community members have died as a result of the virus this month compared to 38 in October 2020. Yellowstone County has experienced one COVID-19 related death every 14 hours.
To-date, there have been 407 Yellowstone County residents lost to the pandemic since April 2020.
On Friday, Billings Clinic and St. Vincent Healthcare were caring for 43 COVID-19 patients in ICU; 35 were on ventilators. Combined, the hospitals had 128 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including 103 who were not vaccinated.
COVID-19 vaccines are available at local medical clinics and pharmacies.
RiverStone Health will hold a free, walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinic on November 4, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the main campus, 123 S. 27th St., in the four-story building.
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.
RiverStone Health is offering at no charge:
· First and second doses of Pfizer vaccine to people age 12 and older.
· First and second doses of Moderna and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to people age 18 and older.
· Third doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to immune-compromised people.
· Booster shots of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Drive-through testing
RiverStone Health and St. Vincent Healthcare provide free drive-through COVID-19 tests from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays at St. Vincent Healthcare parking lot M, at North 28th Street and 11th Avenue North. The test site is closed from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. daily. Tests are available to people age five and older who have symptoms of COVID-19 or had close contact with a person who tested positive. St. Vincent Healthcare will provide lab results to those tested within 48 hours.
Please be aware that this outdoor test site may close during inclement weather.