The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has submitted its draft COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for review.

DPHHS expects feedback from CDC next week, according to a release, and the agency has already begin and will continue seeking input from various entities.

[READ the plan here]

“I look forward to working with the CDC and key stakeholders throughout Montana as we move forward to both refine the plan, as needed, and then prepare to implement it once the vaccine becomes available, DPHHS Director Sheila Hogan said in a release.

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According to DPHHS, the state’s planning is based on CDC guidance to anticipate a phased approach to anticipated limited vaccine availability.

Hogan said in a release that the first phase of the plan covers the first two months from when the state receives its first shipment of the vaccine and targets people with the highest risk of life-threatening infection and the critical infrastructure workforce, according to the release. The plan provides a framework for defining critical populations for the COVID-19 vaccine within federal guidelines, according to DPHHS.

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The plan details steps DPHHS will take to implement the plan working with local public and private health providers statewide.

“The current plan is based on information known at this time, but there’s still many unknowns at this point, so this will be a work in progress,” Hogan said in a release.

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DPHHS provides funding for local jurisdictions to both develop and regularly exercise mass vaccination plans and last partnered with local agencies to hold a full-scale exercise in October 2019.