Alliance Community Pharmacy was announced as one of three additional locations in the Panhandle to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Other locations include Walmart in Chadron and Scottsbluff. Each of the locations will follow the same vaccination timeline set by Governor Pete Ricketts. Under that timeline, currently only health-care personnel, long-term care providers and individuals 65 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Panhandle residents over the age of 18 are encouraged to register to receive the vaccine at vaccinate.ne.gov.
“Each new opportunity to expand access to residents getting the COVID vaccine is the goal but we want people to remain patient as new systems are underway,” said Panhandle Public Health District Director Kim Engel.
Vaccinations for veterans enrolled in the VA Health Care System are also available at the Scottsbluff Community-Based Outpatient Clinic. Those eligible are encouraged to call 308-225-5330. The vaccinations are by appointment only.
People who have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will not be required to quarantine due to close contact exposure.
Officials with COVID-19 Unified Command remind people that the Monoclonal Antibody Treatment is still available for those people confirmed positive for COVID-19.
“When a person becomes infected with COVID, their body makes antibodies to fight off the virus,” a press release from Unified Command stated. “Monoclonal Antibody Treatment is a COVID neutralizing antibody treatment infusion that helps the body make enough antibodies to successfully fend off the virus while the body continues naturally making its own.”
Officials noted that the treatment may help COVID symptoms improve and make hospital visits less likely. The treatment is available to the general population and at long-term care facilities. To determine eligibility, those who have tested positive for COVID-19 are encouraged to contact their healthcare provider.
“This treatment should be administered as soon as possible after a positive COVID test, ideally within the first five days from symptoms starting,” said Engel. “Don’t hesitate and don’t wait to contact your healthcare provider to see if you meet the criteria and before symptoms become severe. With a case fatality rate higher than the state average, we must use all options necessary to fight this insidious virus.”
As of Monday, 8,604 Panhandle residents have received the COVID-19 vaccine. In Box Butte County, there has been a total of 897 positive cases since testing began in March 2020. Eight of those cases have occurred in the last 14 days. There have been a total of eight people in Box Butte County who have died due to COVID-19 since March 2020.