The primary focus of the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department continues to be the COVID-19 event. The department recently announced the deaths from COVID-19 illness of two more county residents, bringing the county’s death toll from COVID-19, since the event began locally in March 2020, to 98. As of Thursday, Oct. 14, virus cases appeared to be on the decline in Butte-Silver Bow, though Health Department officials continued to express concern due to intense virus activity in nearby counties, including in Park and Lewis and Clark counties, and the state of Montana as a whole. As of Oct. 14, the county had 131 active virus cases, with 31 of those cases – or almost one-quarter – ages 17 or younger. As of mid-October, 65 percent of the county’s eligible residents – those ages 12 and older – were fully vaccinated, putting Butte-Silver Bow at No. 2 in the state for vaccination rate. COVID-19 vaccination clinics continue, featuring Pfizer first shots, second shots, third shots and booster shots. Clinics also feature Moderna first shots and second shots and Johnson & Johnson shots. As of Oct. 14, the Health Department was awaiting federal guidance in regard to the Moderna and J&J booster vaccines. The department was also awaiting federal guidance on COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11.