By Melissa Davlin, Idaho Reports
As of Friday, 49.9 percent of Idahoans ages 18 and older have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and 45.8 percent are fully vaccinated, according to data published by Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
The vaccination rate varies by age group; Three fourths of Idahoans ages 65 and older are fully vaccinated, while just 27.5 percent of those ages 18 to 24 are inoculated. Children ages 12-15 became eligible to become vaccinated on May 13; Since then, 15 percent have had at least one dose, and 8.4 percent are fully vaccinated.
Disparities in vaccination rates by county are growing. In Blaine County, 82.5 percent of residents ages 12 and older are vaccinated, compared to 26 percent in Idaho County and 27 percent in Boise County.
Nearly 703,000 Idahoans ages 12 and older have received at least one dose, and about 1.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the state so far.
Despite hitting the milestone, Idaho has among the lowest vaccination rates among adults in the nation. According to a recent analysis by the New York Times, at the current pace, it will take five months for Idaho to hit President Joe Biden’s goal of 70 percent of adults immunized. (That’s assuming, of course, that people continue to get immunized at the same rate; Vaccine administration in Idaho has varied week by week.)
The statewide test positivity rate continues to drop, with 3.6 percent of COVID tests coming back positive last week. That’s down from a high of 19 percent in December.
The seven day moving average incidence rate is down to 4.4 cases per 100,000 people, a new low. Eleven counties reported no new cases in the last week. Lewis County had the highest incidence rate, with a moving average of 18.6 cases per 100,000 people. Ada, Canyon, and Kootenai Counties had the highest raw numbers of cases, with 102 cases in Ada, 79 in Canyon, and 57 in Kootenai.
To date, Idaho has recorded 194,006 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, and 2,122 COVID-related deaths.
