Webster County Public Health (WCPH) is still in Phase 1A of the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the agency said in a news release Monday.

Since UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center health care workers began to get vaccinated last month, WCPH said that health care workers with Mercy, Community Health Center of Fort Dodge, Iowa Specialty Clinic, Millennium Therapy, Davita, Fort Dodge Fire Department, Proteus, local pharmacies and dental care providers have also received the vaccine.

With emergency use authorization from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state leaders anticipated an estimated 138,300 doses from Moderna and Pfizer for Iowa by the end of December — enough to vaccinate 69,150 people.

“The past several weeks have been very exciting for our health care communities in Webster County,” said Kari Prescott, director of WCPH. “Our frontline health care workers are now receiving the vaccine after protecting our communities for nine difficult months. We are thankful to have the vaccine allocated to our health department and will continue to provide it until every health care worker and skilled nursing facility resident and staff that choose to be are vaccinated.”

WCPH has also started inoculating skilled nursing facility staff and residents against COVID-19 in the current phase through contracts with CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens.

Any individual who fits the criteria for Phase 1A and wants to be vaccinated but is independent and not affiliated with a health care facility in the county is asked to call Webster County Public Health at 515-573-4107 to schedule an appointment.

“Right now, the vaccine is being made available to Phase 1A priority populations, however, it is anticipated that by mid-2021, there should be enough vaccine for any resident who would like to receive it,” Prescott said.

On Dec. 18, Public Health said that the general public could tentatively see vaccines as early as March or April, though planning estimates are in flux.

The Iowa Infectious Disease Advisory Council is in the process of reviewing guidance issued by the CDC’s Advisory Council on Immunization Practices to prioritize populations in Phases 1B and 1C. The CDC’s guidelines for Phase 1B include frontline essential workers and people 75 and older. Phase 1C includes people ages 65 to 75, people ages 16 to 64 with high-risk conditions and other essential workers not recommended in Phase 1B.

Phase 2 includes school staff, child care workers, workers in high-risk and essential industries, people of all ages with underlying conditions that put them at moderately higher risk, people in homeless shelters and group homes for those with disabilities, those incarcerated in various detention centers and all older adults not in Phase 1.

Phase 3 of the CDC’s plan includes young adults and children.

Webster County Public Health will alert and instruct various target groups through media channels and its website as new populations become eligible for the vaccine.

Until the vaccine is widely available, Public Health officials continue to urge the public to practice the mitigation measures that slow the spread of the virus: wearing a mask or face covering, social distancing, frequently washing hands and staying home when sick.