Grand Forks County is now vaccinating Tiers 7 and 8 of Phase 1B, which include childcare workers and employees of preschools and schools teaching kindergarten through 12th grade.
Teachers, nutritional services employees, aides, bus drivers, principals, administrative staff, custodians, or other workers employed by a school or childcare provider can visit mychart.altru.org or call 701-780-6358 to make an appointment to receive a vaccine. Those who have already put their name on the waitlist do not need to reach out again, and will be contacted to schedule a vaccine.
"Grand Forks Public Schools is grateful for the opportunity to be in line for vaccinations," Grand Forks Public Schools Superintendent Terry Brenner said in a statement. "As frontline and essential workers since the commencement of the school year. This will add another layer of protection for staff in addition to the other CDC mitigation strategies."
Prior phases that have already been called to be vaccinated are Phase 1B Tier 1, which includes people who are 75 and older; Tiers 2 and 4, which includes people who are 65 and older with high-risk medical conditions; Tier 3, which includes people living in congregate living facilities; Tier 5, which includes people who are 65 and older with no high-risk medical conditions; and Tier 6, which includes anyone with two or more high-risk medical conditions. If you are in these tiers and have not yet been vaccinated, follow the above instructions.
High-risk medical conditions include cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, Down Syndrome, heart conditions, immunocompromised state, obesity and severe obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, smoking, and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. A complete list of high-risk conditions can be found on the CDC website.
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The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only vaccine authorized for people younger than 18. It is authorized to be given to anyone 16 and older, according to Grand Forks Public Health. Anyone younger than 18 who is interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine should call the Altru COVID-19 hotline at 701-780-6358.
People who are not eligible for Tiers 1 through 8 are asked to wait to put their names on the waitlist until their tier is called. Once vaccinations of those groups have been completed, the county will move on to Phase 1C, which includes essential workers and people of any age at increased risk for COVID-19. A complete list of Phase 1C priority groups can be found on the Grand Forks Public Health website.
It's still too soon to know when vaccinations might begin for future tiers and groups, and a timeline will depend largely on federal allocation of COVID-19 vaccine doses. Grand Forks Public Health will continue to update which tiers have been called through local media and through their social media.
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