As Avera Sacred Heart Hospital wraps up Phase 1-C of the COVID 19 vaccine roll-out over the coming days, the effort will move into Phase 1-D including people who are age 80 and over, transplant patients, and cancer or dialysis treatment patients.
During Phase 1C, which included public health workers, long-term care facility residents and law enforcement, Avera Infection Prevention Coordinator Liz Healy says more than four thousand vaccine doses were administered.
Healy says Avera is dispensing COVID 19 vaccines as soon as they arrive.
For residents in neighboring states who receive most of their healthcare through Avera, Healy says those patients need to contact their local healthcare systems for COVID 19 vaccinations.
Healy says until a substantial portion of the population has been inoculated against COVID 19 it is vital that people continue to take precautions against spreading the coronavirus such as wearing masks in public, practicing social distancing and frequent handwashing.