Effective Immediately 16 and Older are Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine
(Photo by U.S. Navy / CC BY 2.0) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class David Tuil, assigned to the Preventive Medicine Department at Naval Health Clinic Hawaii (NHCH), administers one of the first Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines at NHCH to Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Gage Finn
PANHANDLE HEALTH DISTRICT — Individuals who are 16 years of age and older are eligible to get their COVID-19 vaccine now through enrolled providers within Kootenai, Bonner, Boundary, Benewah, and Shoshone counties. Appointments for the week of March 29 were released by Panhandle Health District this Wednesday, March 24th at 0900. All previous phases are still eligible and encouraged to schedule an appointment if they have not already.
This decision comes after Governor Little made the announcement that in Idaho, those 16 years or older with an underlying health condition will be eligible to receive the vaccine beginning March 29th. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare agreed that different health districts within Idaho may choose to move through the various Group 3 Subgroups at different rates.
“After assessing the situation with our enrolled vaccine providers, we made the decision as a group to move forward in the phases,” said Don Duffy, Health Services Division Administrator for PHD. “We have the supply and available appointments, but have continued to see a decline in demand. At the end of the day, we just want to get people vaccinated who are choosing to receive a vaccine.”
Making an appointment: Online or by phone
Many providers are still utilizing their own vaccine appointment scheduling tools, while others have shifted to using the state’s pre-registry vaccine tool where eligible individuals enter their name and contact information. From the pre-registry tool, providers pull names and directly connect with the person eligible for vaccine.
If you need help by phone with navigating the online appointment scheduling or do not have internet access, PHD’s Call Center can assist you. Call 877-415-5225 Monday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.
Vaccine allocations
Weekly vaccine allocations to PHD’s jurisdiction continue to remain consistent. A total of 6,400 Moderna and Pfizer doses will go to enrolled vaccine providers in PHD’s jurisdiction. To-date, over 98,000 total vaccine doses have been allocated to PHD’s jurisdiction.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is for persons 16 years or older. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines are for persons 18 years or older. PHD will state what vaccine is being administered when individuals register for an appointment on their website.
If you have questions about COVID-19 in our area, call PHD’s COVID-19 hotline Monday – Friday, 8am-5pm, 877-415-5225.