Yellowstone County

Following Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte’s announcement that all Montanans aged 16 and up will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting April 1, larger counties are outlining varying timelines and approaches for how they’ll meet that goal.

Most Montana counties are currently vaccinating people who fall into the state’s Phase 1B+, which includes those who are 60 years and up and people with certain medical conditions.

Yellowstone County is opening COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all adults age 16 and older this week. It’s one of the first large counties in Montana to take this step.

Riverstone Health, the county’s health department, announced Tuesday morning that about 1,000 appointments to receive the free vaccine were unclaimed by residents in priority groups, leading the county to expand eligibility.

“The most important thing is to get the vaccine into arms. So we worked with our state partners to get the OK and open it up," said Health Officer John Felton.

A virus threatening to wipe out entire populations of rabbits across multiple states was found for the first time in Montana recently.

Four dead feral rabbits in Yellowstone County tested positive earlier this month for a virus that causes Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease, according to the Montana Department of Livestock.

The highly contagious and fatal disease threatens domestic and wild rabbit populations, as well as hares and pikas. It does not affect humans.

Social services in Billings are opening a temporary shelter to meet the city’s need for isolated sleeping spaces as COVID-19 cases rise and temperatures drop.

The Off the Streets Shelter just north of downtown Billings is the creation of local healthcare and social service organizations in a coalition aimed at decreasing homelessness in the area.

Yellowstone County Continuum of Care expects the 50 to 60 person capacity at the former Western Inn to handle any overflow of people seeking a space to sleep at local shelters over the next year.