How Vaccine is Distributed to Our Community

COVID-19 vaccine is distributed according to federal and state plans. Trinity Health receives our vaccine shipments directly from the North Dakota Department of Health. We also follow specific federal and state guidelines to prioritize who gets the vaccine.

Supply

We communicate with the state often about how much vaccine will be available, and when. However, at this stage vaccine is in limited supply, so for now it’s hard to predict supply dates or volumes.

When we do receive a vaccine shipment, Trinity Health acts quickly to dispense every dose under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible, as soon as possible, to achieve the best benefit for our community.

Trinity Health is ready to ensure we administer all the vaccine we receive to eligible priority groups.

Priority Groups

Because there is limited vaccine at this point, immunization clinics are targeted to vulnerable, at-risk groups based on CDC and State guidance. The State of North Dakota recently updated the phases in which patients will be selected for vaccination, which you can view here.

If You Are Contacted to Receive the Vaccine

When vaccine becomes available, we will contact patients directly if they are identified as eligible. Because we follow the State’s distribution plan based on priority groups, Trinity Health is not maintaining a waiting list of all patients who want the vaccine. Please do not call your provider to request the vaccine; again, you will be contacted directly if you are identified within a priority group.

Two doses on two different dates are required. These COVID-19 vaccines require two shots to be effective, so be sure you attend the two vaccination dates you are given. Both doses you receive must be of the same product, and will be either 21 days or 28 days apart, depending on the vaccine. Mark your calendar and attend both dates.

Pfizer Vaccine Fact Sheet   Moderna Vaccine Fact Sheet