As vaccine trickles in ND shots go out

North Dakota is transitioning its COVID vaccine program from the 1A priority group to 1B. That group includes persons 75 and over and those 65-plus with two or more high-risk medical conditions. The 1B category also encompasses child care workers and school employees.

North Dakota Immunization program manager Molly Howell says it’s a large priority group of some 230,000. Howell says it’s hard to say how long it will take to cover that many people given the state is receiving less than 10,000 doses of vaccine per week. “I don’t know how many people in Phase 1B will accept the vaccine.”

Also in play is how many doses of vaccine the state will receive in the future. Next up would be the 1C group that covers essential workers and people of any age at increased risk for COVID-19.