March 3, 2021

The number of retail pharmacies in South Dakota offering the COVID-19 vaccine has increased to 56 from 13 last week.

Here’s the list of locations in Lincoln and Minnehaha counties:

In addition, the state of South Dakota will receive more than 18,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. There hasn’t been an update yet on when the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will arrive or how much of it is coming.

“We’ve seen a  big uptick in the number of places South Dakotans can receive a COVID-19 vaccination,” Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon said.

“So we’re very pleased by that. We urge anybody that is seeking to be vaccinated to check our website for more information.”

Because of increased supply and access points, the state will start vaccinating people with one or more underlying conditions:

• Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
• Cancer
• Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Diabetes mellitus (type 1 and type 2)
• Down syndrome
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
• Hypertension or high blood pressure
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system)
• Liver disease
• Neurologic conditions, such as dementia
• Pregnancy
• Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
• Severe obesity
• Sickle cell disease
• Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)

“We really want to see everybody who is eligible to sign up to get their shots,” Malsam-Rysdon said.

All pharmacies are vaccinating South Dakotans according to the state’s priority populations.

Effects of the vaccine have been relatively minor, state epidemiologist Dr. Josh Clayton said.

“There is no definitive evidence of deaths being causally related to vaccination, and what we typically do see are local and systemic reactions,” he said.

That can involve pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain and chills that typically last one or two days and can occur after either dose.

Statewide, COVID-19 numbers have been averaging about 150 new cases, nine new hospitalizations and two deaths per day for the past week, he said.

Find COVID-19 case numbers, other updates for March here