COVID-19

While not explicitly stated in Montana’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan, the state health department says pregnancy is a major medical condition that may qualify someone for a shot under the current phase.

Elle Ruis, a seventh grade math teacher at Kalispell Middle School, says she has wanted to get a COVID-19 vaccine as they’ve become more available.

“I just feel like in my job, I’m really exposed constantly to tons and tons of people and at a high risk of catching COVID,” Ruis says.

The Montana House Thursday offered its support to a bill that would create a commission to study whether to permanently revoke regulations suspended during the coronavirus pandemic.

Yellowstone County’s health officer says vaccine rollout is progressing in the state’s most populous region.

At a press conference Wednesday morning, Yellowstone County health officer John Felton said residents in Phase 1B who received their first vaccine doses at the centralized vaccination clinic in Billings starting mid-February are this week beginning to receive their second doses.

The Gallatin City-County Board of Health has relaxed a COVID-19 related health rule limiting event sizes as the spread of the virus has slowed down.

During a special meeting Friday, the Gallatin City-County Board of Health voted to expand group gatherings from the current limit of 25 people to a maximum of 150 for indoor events and up to 250 for outdoor events if certain physical distancing measures can be maintained.

Montana K through 12 public schools will receive an estimated $382 million in federal funds from the most recent COVID-19 relief package, according to an estimate from the Montana Governor's Office of Budget and Program Planning.

Additionally, the Montana Office of Public Instruction says non-public schools in Montana will receive $12.8 million from that same relief bill.

Pres. Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act, which appropriates about $122.7 billion nationally to help schools reopen.