Monument Health moves forward with vaccinations under phase 1D

RAPID CITY, S.D. — The next phase of the COVID-19 vaccine roll out got underway today. Phase 1D wasn’t expected to begin until February, but was moved up since Monument Health was able to get through groups 1A – 1C so quickly.

“We are seeing a lot of people that want to get the vaccine, they see the advantages of it and they are scheduling appointments to get vaccinated,” said Scott Peterson, Director of Pharmacy at Monument Health.

Phase 1D includes teachers and funeral service workers, people 80 years old and older, post-transplant individuals, those undergoing active cancer treatment and those receiving dialysis treatments. Anyone in Phase 1A through 1C can still schedule appointments, but Monument Health won’t call you when it is your phases turn unless you are living in group homes.

Peterson said, “So we would contact those group homes to schedule appointments, but the people in the other groups, we would like them to reach out to us, and they can do that a number of ways.”

Monument Health updates their website with the latest vaccine information regarding what phase we are currently in, as well as how to schedule appointments to receive your vaccine. Right now they believe the biggest challenge they will face with Phase 1D vaccinations is not having enough supply to keep up with demand.

“Supply is short – the state is receiving 11 to 12 thousand doses per week – and there are up to 265,000 that are in that 1D group. So the biggest challenge right now is supply. If we were able to receive more supply we would be able to give more shots,” Peterson added.

According to the CDC, South Dakota remains one of the top states administering the COVID-19 vaccine, which means a lot of doses are being used and not sitting on shelves.