BILLINGS - Three more Yellowstone County residents have died of COVID-19 related illness, bringing the county’s pandemic death toll to at least 414 residents since April 2020.
All of the individuals who died had underlying medical conditions that put them at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness, according to a press release from RiverStone Health.
The recent deaths included:
· A woman in her 80s, who died Monday in a Billings hospital. She was not vaccinated.
· A woman in her 90s, who died Monday in a Billings hospital. She was vaccinated.
· A man in his 90s, who died October 28. He was a resident of a long-term care facility and was vaccinated.
On Tuesday, Billings Clinic and St. Vincent Healthcare were caring for 41 COVID-19 patients in ICU; 27 were on ventilators. Altogether, the hospitals had 118 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including 94 who weren’t vaccinated.
COVID-19 vaccines are available at local medical clinics and pharmacies.
RiverStone Health will hold free, walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinics from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the main RiverStone Health campus, 123 S. 27th St., in the four-story building on:
· November 4
· December 9
· December 30
A limited number of vaccination appointments are available from the RiverStone Health Immunization Clinic, phone 406.247.3382. More vaccination information is posted at covid.riverstonehealth.org.
RiverStone Health is offering at no charge:
· First and second doses of Pfizer vaccine to people age 12 and older.
· First and second doses of Moderna and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to people age 18 and older.
· Third doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to immune-compromised people.
· Booster shots of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Drive-through testing
RiverStone Health and St. Vincent Healthcare provide free drive-through COVID-19 tests from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays at St. Vincent Healthcare parking lot M, at North 28th Street and 11th Avenue North. The test site is closed from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. daily.
Tests are available to people age five and older who have symptoms of COVID-19 or had close contact with a person who tested positive. St. Vincent Healthcare will provide lab results to those tested within 48 hours. For a list of other testing sites in Yellowstone County, go to covid.riverstone.org and click on the bar that says: “I need to be tested for COVID-19”.
The outdoor test site may close during inclement weather.