Residents 65 and older in Webster County will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccinations today, according to a press release from UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center.

Webster County Department of Public Health notified the Fort Dodge hospital that it may begin to vaccinate community members, using vaccines that were not utilized for Phase 1A (health care workers).

UnityPoint Health will begin vaccinating priority populations 65 years and older, starting today, using this remaining supply from Phase 1A.

The hospital will notify patients via phone, direct mail and/or through MyUnityPoint, its online patient portal, when vaccine is available for them to schedule an appointment.

At this time, the hospital will be administering Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. This vaccine requires two doses.

The federal government is managing the vaccine distribution, with state public health departments determining the number of doses available to health care systems and other priority groups in each state.

If you are eligible based on your place of employment or occupation, it is encouraged that you closely monitor communication from your local public health department.

As soon as the vaccine is made available to additional populations, the hospital will partner with public health to notify individuals. At this time community members can’t sign up for the vaccine in advance with UnityPoint Health.

“We are asking community members to be patient as we roll out the COVID vaccine to our community,” said Leah Glasgo, president and CEO of UnityPoint Health ­ Fort Dodge. “We know people are excited and want to get the vaccine as soon as possible, and we too want to get as many people vaccinated as we can. However, vaccine supplies are limited. We are quickly scheduling appointments based on the allocation of vaccines we receive from Webster County Public Health.”

As supplies increase over time, all adults who choose to receive the vaccine should be able to get vaccinated later in 2021, according to the hospital. However, a COVID-19 vaccine may not be available for young children until more studies are completed.

Although significant progress continues in the development and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, public health officials say it’s important to practice COVID-19 safety measures for the foreseeable future.

Even after a person is vaccinated, they should continue to stay home when sick, wear a mask and social distance.

For more COVID-19 resources and information, including where to go for care, visit unitypoint.org.