Speed of vaccine distribution dictated by supply, health officials say
Written By: Erik Kaufman
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Mrs. Katie Murphy takes a paper from one of her students during Spanish class on recently at Mitchell High School. (Matt Gade / Republic)
The vaccination drive is underway.
Since the approval of several vaccines for the virus that causes COVID-19, the deadly respiratory disease that has killed over a half-million people in the United States alone dating back to early 2020, states have begun distribution of the life-saving measure to various portions of the population.
That work began in January in South Dakota, with priority immunization scheduled for frontline healthcare workers and long-term care facility workers, closely followed by residents of those facilities. Also scheduled for January were EMS and public and other healthcare workers. The current phase of the rollout is prioritizing people 65 and over and high-risk patients.