National Guard recounts vaccine distribution

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 4/5/21

All 50 U.S. states have received aid from National Guard units to help with the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, and Montana is no different. The Billings Gazette spoke to National Guard members who have been working at Billings’ Metra Park since mid-March to help with vaccine efforts, as well as test transportation, processing and food deliveries in more remote reservations. “When you have an emergency or disaster, a lot of times we have to rely on volunteers,” Yellowstone County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator KC Williams told the Gazette. “But in the case of COVID, it being an extraordinary lengthy emergency, one thing that we can’t guarantee is consistency and reliability among our volunteers …With the National Guard, since they are consistent and reliable, it streamlines the process and the level of professionalism.”