Officials with COVID-19 Unified Command announced on Monday that the COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna will be coming to the Panhandle.
Tabi Prochazka with Panhandle Public Health District made the announcement during the briefing on Monday afternoon, noting that officials are still finalizing a plan for administering the vaccine.
“There’s going to be no cost for the vaccine that’s provided, but there may be administrative fees, and we’ll be figuring that out over the next couple weeks, months in each community,” said Prochazka.
Prochazka noted that while more data are being gathered, studies indicate only a rare chance of serious adverse effects. She explained that the first people eligible to receive the vaccine will be healthcare providers, emergency medical service workers and long-term care employees.
Since last Tuesday, there have been 15 more deaths in the Panhandle: one woman in her 50s in Box Butte County; two women in their 80s and two women in their 90s in Dawes County; one woman in her 70s in Cheyenne County; three men in their 60s, two men in their 90s and one woman in her 90s in Scotts Bluff County; one woman in her 60s and one woman in her 80s in Sheridan County.
“We wish to express our sincere condolences with the friends and loved ones in the loss of our fellow Panhandle residents,” said Kim Engel, Panhandle Public Health District Director in a press release Monday. “We wish you peace and comfort especially during this holiday season.”
During the briefing, officials noted that they were waiting for confirmation from the state on 17 more deaths that occurred in the Panhandle. Engel noted it is difficult to track deaths related to COVID-19 because of the delay between confirmation from the state and having a death certificate.
“We don’t always know of a death until we get that certificate,” said Engel. “It’s hard for us to pinpoint to say that trend is going down. It saddens us that we’ve had so many in such a recent amount of time.”
As of Monday evening, Box Butte County has had a total of 692 cases, with 106 active, 579 recovered and seven that resulted in death. In Box Butte County’s schools, there have been a total of 96 cases at Alliance Public Schools, with seven active and 89 recovered, and 10 at Hemingford Public Schools, with three active and seven recovered. There were a total of 29 people in quarantine at Alliance Public Schools and four quarantined at Hemingford Public Schools.
In the Panhandle, as of Monday evening, there have been 6,527 cases, with 2,239 active, 4,206 recovered, and 82 that resulted in death; Banner County has had 12 cases with two active and 10 recovered; Cheyenne County has had 602 cases with 116 active, 478 recovered and eight that resulted in death; Dawes County has had 499 cases with 49 active, 433 recovered and 17 that resulted in death; Deuel County has had 57 cases, with 17 active and 40 recovered; Garden County has had 81 cases with 71 active and 10 recovered; Grant County has had 20 cases with eight active, 10 recovered and two that resulted in death; Kimball County has had 201 cases with 38 active, 159 recovered and four that resulted in death; Morrill County has had 374 cases with 52 active, 318 recovered and four that resulted in death; Scotts Bluff County has had 3,664 cases with 1,796 active, 1,835 recovered and 33 that resulted in death; Sheridan County has had 298 cases with 40 active, 252 recovered and six that resulted in death; Sioux County has had 20 cases with two active, 17 recovered and one that resulted in death.