Numbers are promising and thousands of Park County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine as Yellowstone is next on the vaccination list.
Supplies of COVID-19 vaccines are streaming into Park County and residents are responding. Park County Public Health Nurse Bill Crampton has released the vaccination numbers showing how many people have been inoculated.
Of the estimated population of just over 29,000 people, over 10,000 people in Park County – one-third of the population – have received at least part of the vaccination.
For Crampton, it means Park County has passed the halfway mark for vaccination.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in use in the county. The recently approved Johnson and Johnson will be available soon.
The number of vaccinations, broken down by first and second dose, are here:
Pfizer
- 1rst Dose: 4575
- 2nd Dose: 3483
Moderna
- 1st Dose: 1551
- 2nd Dose: 1092
It adds up to a total of 10, 701 fully or partially vaccinated Park County residents.
The actual numbers, Crampton notes, are higher than reported. A Mar. 11 vaccination clinic of over 500 first doses is not included in the vaccination totals.
Crampton estimates that another third of Park County will receive the COVID-19 vaccine. By those same estimates, another third will not.
The Wyoming Department of Health is still prioritizing Groups 1a, 1b, and 1c. Recently expanded priorities include the homeless, inmates at prisons, and “essential critical infrastructure workforce”
Now, a new phase of vaccination begins in the other part of Park County – Yellowstone National Park.
While there’s no word on how the park will look and function in 2021, it will open as usual for the summer season. As the opening draws closer, park officials are preparing by getting their staff ready for their shots.
“Yellowstone Park is ramping up,” Crampton says. “They are using 120 doses of Pfizer this morning and are preparing for their seasonal workers starting to come on board. Hospitality workers are on the essential workforce since we depend on them to help with tourism.”
Park County Public Health has been a major COVID lifeline for Yellowstone. In 2020, the agency assisted in testing park staff for COVID-19 throughout the summer and fall.
The next clinic in Park County will be held at the Billings Clinic Cody on Saturday, Mar. 20. The second dose will be administered on Saturday, April 10.
Several other clinics in Cody and Powell are available on the Park County Public Health website.
