As of Wednesday, May 19, 2021, Montana reports 110,992 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 156 new cases reported in the last day: 34 in Yellowstone County, 32 in Cascade County, 20 in Flathead County, 12 in Lewis & Clark County, 9 in Gallatin County, 9 in Ravalli County, and more new cases in 18 more Montana counties.Most Montana counties do not report over the weekend, and so official case counts do not include the most populous Gallatin County, Yellowstone County, and others. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 988. Currently, 55 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Cascade, Yellowstone, and Flathead Counties. 1,602 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 587,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 33,000,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

People will likely need a Covid-19 booster vaccine within a year following their initial vaccination, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, says. “We know that the vaccine durability of the efficacy lasts at least six months, and likely considerably more, but I think we will almost certainly require a booster sometime within a year or so after getting the primary,” Fauci said.

The rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 has been “better than expected,” says Dr. Lisa Costello, a pediatrician and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on State Government Affairs. Costello said that the rollout for that age group in the United States has been reminiscent of when the vaccine was first authorized for adults in December – and those very first doses were administered. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said, “In less than one week, we have vaccinated more than 600,000 12- to 15-year-olds.”

The Bozeman School District is likely to continue requiring mask use through the end of the school year, with a committee set to review that and other COVID-19 policies before the start of next school year. District administrators said they had received a lot of questions around whether schools would continue mask requirements after local health officials dropped mask requirements for fully vaccinated people in most settings late last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does recommend schools continue mask use through the end of the 2021 school year.