U.S. Public Health Service Lt. Cmdr. Erica Harker, left, an Indian Health Service Navajo Area pharmacy consultant and a member of the Zuni Tribe, and Gallup Indian Medical Center Chief of Pharmacy Vicky Chavez prepare COVID-19 vaccines to be redistributed from GIMC to other health care facilities on the Navajo Nation, December 14, 2020. Photo: IHS
COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Indian Country as cases continue to rise
‘A historic day in this fight’
Monday, December 14, 2020
Indianz.Com
Facilities across Indian Country have begun distributing a newly approved COVID-19 vaccine but the vast majority of tribal citizens will have to wait before they can be protected from a disease that continues to ravage their communities.
Navajo Nation receives 1st shipment of COVID-19 vaccine Shondiin Silversmith, Arizona Republic
As the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the U.S. this week, the Navajo Nation received its first doses Monday and plans to administer them to health care workers starting Tuesday.
The pandemic has at times overwhelmed the Navajo Nation, which earlier this year had the highest infection rate per capita. The daily number of COVID-19 positive cases has risen sharply during the latest wave of the virus, according to data from the Navajo Nation Department of Health.
On Monday, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer visited the Gallup Indian Medical Center as the Navajo Area IHS received the first shipment of the vaccines.