Covid shot available for children 12 and up

The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe and Avera Medical Group Flandreau are offering the COVID-19 vaccine to anyone 12 years of age or older.
The tribal clinic offered the younger age group the shot starting last Sunday at the FEMA and Indian Health Services mobile clinic at the Royal River Casino. Those who received the first dose will get a second dose on June 7 at the tribal clinic community room. If that date doesn’t work, those patients have the option of going to Avera’s clinic.
Depending on the turnout, the tribal clinic would be open to hosting another event that could include anyone 12 and older, said Cynthia Jacobs, the clinic’s CEO.
“We think the change in CDC guidelines will incentivize people (to get vaccinated),” she said. The guidelines recently changed say people who are fully vaccinated can be in public spaces without their masks, except for areas such as hospitals and clinics, homeless shelters and mass transit, for example.
At Avera, a shot clinic, using the Pfizer vaccine, will be available each Monday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. for walk-in customers. No appointment is necessary.

The vaccine recently was approved for children ages 12 to 16. Before that, it had been available for anyone age 16 and older.
Patients are asked to bring a photo identification and a copy of their insurance card, if they are insured. The vaccine is covered by all health insurance providers. If a person does not have insurance, the cost is covered by the federal government.
For those between the ages of 12 and 17, a parent will need to be present. The second dose of the vaccine will be given 21 days later.
Moody County has registered one additional death from COVID-19 in the past couple of weeks, bringing the total to 18. In addition, 57 people have been hospitalized.
The number of Covid cases in the county has been 664, with 633 recovered and 13 still active, as of Friday.
Moody County has 1,680 people who are fully vaccinated, not including those who have received their shots from the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Clinic, which don’t show up in the state totals. In addition, another 184 people have gotten their first dose of the vaccine.