JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Healthcare workers and Long-term care & staff will be some of the first in Jamestown to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it arrives by the end of the month.

Central Valley Health Unit Administrator Robin Iszler says pending FDA approval, the vaccine is expected to begin arriving in North Dakota the week of December 13th. She says it’s expected 6,825 doses will arrive in the state, followed by 20,000 the week after and another 15,000 doses a week after that.

From there, Iszler says those in the Emergency Medical System to those providing testing and vaccinations will receive the vaccine. She added that North Dakota would be receiving the Moderna Vaccine, which has a reported vaccine efficacy of 94.1%.

With a high amount of workers in those fields, Iszler says it may be some time before the general public can start receiving the vaccine.

Iszler says they continue to provide testing for COVID-19 at the Jamestown Civic Center. She says starting next week, they’ll begin testing daily from 10 AM to 12 PM and using rapid testing.

She also pointed to the mask mandate issued by the Governor, which is set to expire by December 14th. Iszler says the city has issued a mask mandate as well that goes past that date.

Other members who spoke during the latest COVID-19 press briefing include the Jamestown Regional Medical Center, Department of Health, Sanford Health, Jamestown Public Schools, and the University of Jamestown.

You can watch the full briefing below: