New daily COVID-19 cases are dropping in Idaho as vaccine doses administered areincreasing. According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW), 77% of doses distributed to the state have been administered.
“We have crossed a significant milestone last week where more people in Idaho have had at least one dose of vaccine than have been diagnosed with COVID-19,” IDHW Director, Dave Jeppesen said.
Idaho has received over 338,000 vaccine doses and over 259,000 of them have been administered. First doses are getting administered within 7 days making 95% of first doses given to Idahoans.
“This last week, the federal retail pharmacy partnership started adding 5,000 first doses into Idaho and those are at certain Walmart and Albertsons pharmacies. This means that Idaho is now receiving about 30,000 first doses a week,” Jeppesen said.
Albertsons and Walmart are the two federal pharmacies for Idaho with 29 Albertsons and 10 Walmarts receiving doses. IDHW also said they expect to continue receiving at least 5,000 doses a week coming to the state through the retail pharmacy program.
“We will continue to receive that same amount of vaccine if not more. The way it was framed to us is that we will always get the same or more but never less,” Administrator of Public Health Elke Shaw-Tulloch said.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee will meet again this Friday to review and vote on other groups who could be added to the next priority groups.
