Montana tribe gifts surplus vaccines to neighbors in Canada
May 5, 2021 10:13AM AKDT
In this Thursday, April 29, 2021, photo, Canadians drive-in at the Piegan-Carway border to receive a COVID-19 from the Blackfeet tribe near Babb, Mont. The Chief Mountain, sacred to the Blackfeet tribe towers, are seen in the background. The Blackfeet tribe gave out surplus vaccines to its First Nations relatives and others from across the border. (AP Photo/Iris Samuels)
By IRIS SAMUELS Associated Press/Report for America
BABB, Mont. (AP) — A Native American tribe in northern Montana is giving its surplus COVID-19 vaccines to its First Nations relatives and others from neighboring communities in Canada. The effort by the Blackfeet Nation illustrates the disparity in speed at which the United States and Canada are distributing doses. More than 30% of adults in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, while in Canada that figure is around 3%. Most eligible citizens of the Blackfeet Nation are vaccinated, and the tribe didn’t want to waste a surplus of vaccines. It created a distribution plan and last month gave out about 1,000 vaccines at the Piegan Port of Entry.
