As of Monday, December 14, 2020, The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) performed an upgrade of the statewide communicable disease reporting system yesterday. The upgrade required the system to be shut down, so no cases could be reported to the state for today’s update. Cases will be added in the coming days as local public health departments catch up with data entry.

In London, pubs and theaters are shutting down again. The British government is tightening restrictions in London, as well as parts of southern England, because of a “very sharp, exponential rise” in coronavirus cases. Health authorities said they had identified a new, faster-growing variant of the virus.

In New York City, indoor dining has been halted until a spike in Covid-19 cases subsides. Thousands of restaurants face an uncertain future as they brace for winter months that could reduce business to new lows.

German schools will close, along with nonessential stores and services, as part of a strict lockdown that will be in effect through Christmas. Schools are tentatively scheduled to reopen in mid-January.

South Korean officials ordered schools in the Seoul metropolitan area to move all classes online until at least the end of the year, hoping to stem the country’s largest outbreak yet.

The Netherlands will go into a stay-at-home lockdown from tonight to January 19, with all but essential shops closing, as well as schools, museums, gyms and salons. Dutch Ministers are concerned that people are no longer taking the measures to combat coronavirus seriously. People will be urged to stay home as much as possible and to avoid visitors, with no more than two allowed apart from Christmas Day and Boxing Day, when there is a maximum of three guests. A nightly curfew might be part of the stay-at-home order, particularly at New Year’s.

The number of people who died from the coronavirus in the U.S. passed 300,000 today, but the day also marked a turning point for frontline health care workers as they began to receive the first clinically authorized vaccine as part of the mass vaccination program. “I believe this is the weapon that will end the war,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said this morning, shortly before the first shot was given to Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse at a Long Island hospital. Dr. Sylvia Owes-Ansah, an emergency department physician in Pittsburgh, was also among the first recipients of the vaccine.

Residents of nursing homes are also being prioritized and are expected to begin receiving vaccinations next week. But the vast majority of Americans will not be eligible for the vaccine until the spring or later.

4,875 Montana will receive 9,750 vaccine doses by the end of December. The vaccines will be given in two doses, three to four weeks apart. The Gallatin City-County Health Department is working on a vaccine distribution plan with local medical and community partners.

Phase 1 will be distributed to our Critical Workforce & is a Limited Supply. Critical workers and those at highest risk for life-threatening complications get the first doses. This includes residents of long-term care facilities, people 65 years and older, and people with severe medical issues. This phase is expected to take two months.

Phase 2 will include Expanded Dispensing & an Adequate Supply. Begin expanding to other groups, including people at high risk to get and spread COVID-19 and with limited access to medical services. This phase is expected to take three to six months.

Phase 3 will Normalize Distribution & be a Sufficient Supply. The vaccine is given to all adults. Distribution is routine. This phase will most likely take more than six months.

Vaccines are an exciting tool against the COVID-19 pandemic. Until we have access to vaccines and cases begin to slow, we must continue to take steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We must protect our at-risk neighbors from infection and flatten the curve for our healthcare workers. Stay six feet from others, wear a face covering when in public, stay home when sick, and sanitize your hands and frequently touched surfaces. Most importantly, avoid gatherings as COVID-19 cases continue in Gallatin County and across Montana.