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Older patients most at risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 should be on the lookout for a special invitation from Trinity Health.

Trinity Health has begun sending invitations for vaccine appointments to patients based on North Dakota’s published breakdown of Priority Groups as part of a phased-in approach to distributing the coronavirus vaccines in the state.

“Currently we are identifying and contacting at-risk Trinity Health patients who are 75 and older throughout our region,” said Marketing Director Karim Tripodina. “Anyone who receives an invitation via text, email, or voicemail should respond immediately. Vaccine supply is limited so we are scheduling appointments for confirmed responses only from the invitations we send out.”

Until now, Trinity Health teams have been involved in vaccinating healthcare workers, long-term care residents and staff, and others who fell within Phase 1A of Priority Groups identified by the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH). First District Health Unit has also been working to vaccinate other groups in Phase 1A, by appointment only. People in Phase 1A can call their local First District Health Unit office to make an appointment. The next phase, Phase 1B, focuses mainly on older adults.

“As vaccine becomes available we will act quickly to dispense every dose by contacting patients who fit the criteria at the time,” Tripodina said. “Because we follow the state’s plan based on priority groups, Trinity Health will not maintain a waiting list of patients who want the vaccine. We advise people not to call their provider for a vaccination appointment but rather to wait until we contact them directly.”

NDDoH recently updated the phases in which patients will be selected for vaccination, which is available along with other information about the state’s vaccination plan at www.health.nd.gov/covid-19-vaccine-information. Trinity Health and First District Health Unit also have resources available about their vaccination process at www.trinityhealth.org/COVIDvaccine and www.fdhu.org respectively.