As a small state with a healthcare oligopoly, South Dakota apparently found it relatively easy to push the first batches of coronavirus vaccines out the door to our handful of big medical players and tell them to vaccinate all of their workers and other easily identifiable highest-risk cohorts.
But as we move into Phase 1D, where we extend our vaccine rationing to certain folks with certain pre-existing conditions and workers in certain sectors outside healthcare, the state Department of Health and their private oligopoly partners need a more complicated plan.
And apparently, they don’t have such a plan:
As of mid-January, the state and medical providers had not developed concrete plans on how to determine who qualifies in the Phase 1D subgroup of patients with two or more underlying conditions, said Scott Peterson, director of pharmacy at Monument Health in Rapid City.
“There’s been no decision that has been made on that yet,” said Peterson, who is leading that system’s vaccination efforts. “At this point in time, there is not a definitive plan on that … that is something that the health department along with the health systems, and with other input, are working on” [Bart Pfankuch, “Questions Swirl Around Who Qualifies Next to Get Covid-19 Vaccine in S.D.,” South Dakota News Watch, 2021.01.21].
Hmm… instead of counting on Governor Kristi Noem, who puts campaigning over coronavirus safety, to come up with a plan, I’ll just watch for the Biden Administration to set up one of its FEMA vaccination centers at Ken’s Super Fair Foods.
Well we have moved from Eventbrite to Everbridge to register. Whoopee, we have a Republican Governor too. Pass the buck down, freedom rings, and you can’t be blamed.
Other than the VA, west River’s only authorized vaccinator is Monumental Health. Given our “balkanized” healthcare system, this leaves many of us wanting and wondering.
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is vaccinating everyone on the reservation. Members and nonmembers. I’m so thankful for that. We got our first shot a week ago and are scheduled for the second one in 2 weeks.
From today’s NYT:
From March-December 2020 the U.S. recorded an excess of 424,000 deaths, or 20% more than the March-December time frame in recent years.
In SD the number of deaths was up 24%.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/14/us/covid-19-death-toll.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR2Xq1SpuiikafEMbuHdJS0Fa7yEB14KBLQ48q4YwObxnZPJnun_LVcxSPY
Kristi NOOO-em always puts herself first!!! When are people going to quit putting up with her incompetence to govern!! She has proven that she is incapable the past two years!! BUT she does a lot of traveling forwarding her-self service political ways! By the way how much is that costing the S.D. taxpayer or is it coming out of her Presidential campaign coffers?
Received our first shots at Sanford in Aberdeen on Tuesday (Jan. 18) this week, but no thanks to any plan or communication from SDDOH or Noem administration. I had been on the phone for weeks, called the healthcare systems, personal doctor, specialist doctor, Brown County Health. Nobody knew anything. On Monday my spouse happened to talk to someone who had a relative getting shots at Sanford in Aberdeen. As far as I know, there was no pre-notification by DOH or American News or anyone else. SDDOH had a website chart that vaguely promised late in January. My doctor’s office said it would be summer before they expected access to vaccine. American News didn’t have specifics until the Monday newspaper which is delivered with mail late afternoon to rural residents who take the paper. By then, appointments were filling up for Tuesday. The process itself was well-handled at Sanford, but our state’s “plan” if there is one, is failing badly on communication. If one is elderly, one has to be their own advocate.
Thank god .. I’m healthy, and am more likely to stay that way without this “vaccine”.
Rather than focus on abortion, we should outlaw abortion.
We save many young lives that way ..
RIP Hank Aaron, who died 18 days after taking this “vaccine”.
With the UK variant / mutation of the virus expected to quickly become dominant here, it is critically important that a program of mass vaccination be timed to get into full swing by – roughly – March. Doing this as though it is a Monday through Friday rollout and finishing in the summer is too late. By that time the new variant(s) will have caused another wave and spike in hospitalizations. Again, the point is to crush the virus; to get ahead of the curve – and NOT to flatten the curve.
I took the both vaccines in the last 30 days and I’m still alive. Only different factor I see is that I never played baseball.
Gee john, I’ll take your “vaccine”.
I’m tempted to roll with Mark’s sentiment and be glad John D is leaving more vaccine for the rest of us… but alas, vaccines don’t work that way. If lots of John D’s think their personal robustness is all they need to stave off disease, we won’t achieve herd immunity, and coronavirus will continue to hamstring our economy and our quality of life.
And good grief: Hank Aaron also ate lunch and wore shirts before he died, so should we raise fears that lunch and shirts will kill us? Give us a break with your cheap, unscientific fearmongering, John. Give out 16.2 million vaccinations, especially to lots of people over 80 like Hank Aaron, and you’re going to see an entirely non-causal overlap of people who got shots and people who subsequently die. There is zero evidence that Hank Aaron’s death had anything to do with the vaccine. Coincidence, not causality.
John Dog Whistle’s pre-existing condition sent a secret note to Dems thanking them for blocking the demise of the ACA or some troll would not have insurance.
drumpf/noem body count collected 3734 moar bodies Friday.
Last updated: January 23, 2021, 14:34 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
25,392,966
Deaths:
424,191
The Atlanta Braves said in a release that Aaron died peacefully in his sleep.
I can’t believe how quickly this president ruined womens’ sports, tried to kill 80,000 jobs, rolled back the executive order to keep China out of our power grid, and rekindled two wars.
I’m holding all of you Biden voters personally responsible.
President Trump is the only modern president to successfully resist the deep state’s appetite for war.
Now you are cheerleading WWIII, but I think not on purpose. You must be brainwashed Nazis.
Biden is a woman (sport) hating Nazi Fascist.
Congratulations ..
John Dale… I was ready to defend your right to put your opinions here but you have gone into Looney Territory with your posts. Have you misremembered your medications or mixed them up? You need care.
Oh, let him say what he wants to, over the cliff as it is, much like Wiley Coyote. We are all capable of countering such opinions if necessary, right? And we’re mostly First Amendment people, right?
For instance, I might say that Nazis are fascists. Or neo-Nazis. Liberals, on the other hand and including Biden, are the farthest thing from Nazis, the other end, some farther than others. Humorous how they call us both Nazi and Communist at the same time, in the same breath. Opposite ends, though I’m no expert historian, just another FDR liberal with a long time opinion.
A Trump voter calling Biden a fascist is rich. Trump openly flirted with white supremacists throughout his presidency. Trump re-awakened currents of white supremacy rooted deep within America’s DNA.
Johnny cakes is just another confused fascist that so wants to be a liberal that they act out with gibberish, or speaking in tongues. We see that in religious snake charming zealots as well. Hopefully, he is not your next door neighbor, can you imagine that?
Perhaps SD does not need a plan for who and when to distribute the vaccine to. Like the States mask wearing idea…let the people just do the right thing. Tell people we have vaccine available, here is where to go to get it, and here is the criteria to be vaccinated, and if you fit the criteria, then show up and get vaccinated. If you do not fit this weeks criteria then wait in line. But everyone get in line and let those that need it more than you get it first. But please keep injecting vaccine in arms until there are no more arms in SD to vaccinate. If SD thinks personal responsibility works then this should work too. Maybe this would work???
drumpf/noem body count stands at…
Last updated: January 24, 2021, 14:58 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
25,575,095
Deaths:
427,65
3320 bodies counted Saturday. Weekly average a tick or two above 3100 per day.
Last updated: January 25, 2021, 14:49 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
25,705,299
Deaths:
429,511
Sunday body count was 1815.
drumpf/noem body count continues its meteoric rise…
Last updated: January 26, 2021, 13:59 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
25,862,984
Deaths:
431,397
Monday body count 1752. Seven day average just over 3100 daily bodies.
4205 bodies counted Tuesday.
Last updated: January 27, 2021, 13:56 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
26,012,818
Deaths:
435,475