Blackfeet offer vaccines across Canadian borders

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (1) – 4/28/21

When the pandemic hit, the Blackfeet Nation made moves to protect their vulnerable population by closing their portion of Glacier National Park for the summer and quickly administering COVID-19 vaccines once they became available. Now, with 98 percent of their 10,000 residents vaccinated, they’ve been mobilizing to pass those extra doses across the Canadian boarder to protect their Albertan neighbors. After approval from the tribal administration, both the Canadian and U.S. governments set up a mobile clinic on the U.S. side of the border and Canadians lined up in their cars to receive the vaccine through their window. They were then monitored for 15 minutes before driving back home. In the first two-day clinic, 450 Canadians received vaccines. They have plans to host a similar set up next month to administer second doses.