While the vaccine supply is limited, COVID-19 vaccine will be offered in phases in South Dakota. You can find out which phase of the South Dakota vaccination plan you fall in by visiting covid.sd.gov.
Right now, South Dakota is offering vaccines to the following groups of people:
Group A (frontline healthcare workers and long term care facility healthcare workers);
Group B (long term care residents);
Group C (other health care workers, public health workers emergency medical services, law enforcement, correctional officers);
Group D (persons aged 65 and older, high risk patient which are those with dialysis, post-transplant, and active cancer, High Risk Residents in Congregate Settings, Residents in Licensed Independent Living Facilities, and Residents of Licensed Group Homes, Persons with underlying medical conditions under the age of 65, Teachers and Other School/College Staff, Funeral Service Workers); and
Group E (Fire Service Personnel, Other Critical Infrastructure Workers, including water and wastewater, energy, finance, food service, food and agriculture, legal, manufacturing, shelter and housing, transportation and logistics, information technology and communications).
If any one of those descriptions fits you — you qualify to get a vaccine now.
You can schedule a vaccine online at any Federal Retail Pharmacy location administering vaccines. In Lincoln County and Minnehaha County there are a lot of options, such as, Lewis Family Drug in Canton Lennox, Sioux Falls and Tea, HyVee Pharmacy locations in Sioux Falls, Walgreens on 41st St., Sioux Falls, Walmart Pharmacy locations, and Sam’s Pharmacy.
To get a vaccine appointment, you can go to the pharmacy’s individual websites and sign up. You just check a box by your qualifying category — if you work in manufacturing for instance. The online forms are easy to follow and fill out.
If you get the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, you will have to have two doses. Some pharmacies offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is one dose. Most places do not offer you a choice of what kind you will receive. When you make your appointment online — you will make it for the first dose of the vaccine and the pharmacy will help you schedule your second one.
You may have to visit several different websites to find an opening, if there are no openings you may have to check the next day, and so on.
For a link to these pharmacy websites click here.
You may also call whatever health system you use —Avera or Sanford.
COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick according to the CDC. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic. If you’ve been fully vaccinated:
The CDC reports that you can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask.
You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms, unless you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home).
The CDC also reports, “We’re still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others. We know that other prevention steps help stop the spread of COVID-19, and that these steps are still important, even as vaccines are being distributed. We’re still learning how well COVID-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the disease. Early data show that the vaccines may help keep people from spreading COVID-19, but we are learning more as more people get vaccinated. We’re still learning how long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people. As we know more, CDC will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.”