Where does Idaho stand with COVID vaccines? It ranks among best in US, report says

Brooke Wolford
·3 min read

Idaho is one of the best states in the country when it comes to administering the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a report.

Becker’s Hospital Review, a publication specializing in healthcare news, compiles data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into a report that is updated daily. Each state is ranked by the percentage of vaccines they have administered compared to those they received, the report says.

Idaho ranks No. 6 with a vaccination rate of 87.6%, administering 340,444 doses of the 388,815 vaccines it has received. On Monday Idaho ranked No. 5.

“The focus in Idaho is to get the vaccine into arms as quickly as possible,” Zachary Clark, a spokesperson for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, told McClatchy News in an email Wednesday.

The report uses data from the CDC’s data tracker, which compiles information from healthcare facilities and public health authorities, according to Becker’s. The publication determined the percentage by dividing the number of doses distributed to a state by the number of doses a state has administered.

Montana topped the list with the highest percentage of doses administered at 93.33%. Arkansas had the lowest percentage of doses administered at 68%.

The U.S. has administered more than 65 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday, according to the report. That means that roughly 13..5 of the U.S. population has received one dose and 6% have received two.

“Coding problems and data lags” may have impacted “efforts to accurately count and publicly report” the number of vaccines administered a day in some states, therefore potentially affecting the numbers reflected in the report, according to Becker’s.

Vaccines in Idaho

“Governor Little issued an Executive Order on Jan. 28 setting the standard for all first doses to get in the arms of Idahoans seven days after the doses arrive in Idaho,” Clark said. “Providers have stepped up to meet that challenge, and local public health districts and providers are doing an amazing job safely getting vaccines to Idaho residents who want it.”

The department shows administration rates as reported by providers on its website, Clark said.

“Many providers end the week at 100% of doses administered, or very close to that.”

Idaho’s vaccine distribution plan divides eligible people into four groups, according to the state’s website. The state started vaccinating people in group 2 on Jan. 12, which includes “frontline essential workers,” adults age 65 or older and anyone who qualified in group 1.

Frontline essential workers who have already qualified include first responders, school teachers and staff, child care staff and correctional/detention facility staff. In “late February to early March” food/agricultural workers, Idaho National Guard (if not included earlier) and manufacturing, public transit and U.S. Postal Service workers will become eligible.

Group 1 included:

  • Health care personnel

  • Home care providers for older adults and people with high-risk medical conditions

  • Emergency medical services

  • Long-term care facility residents and staff

  • Dentists and staff

  • Pharmacists and staff

  • Public health and emergency management response workers who are unable to telework

Group 3 will become eligible to receive the vaccine in March or early April. It includes other essential workers and individuals between the ages of 16 and 64 with high-risk medical conditions, but the governor still needs to approve the plan, according to the state’s website.

Group 4 is scheduled to become eligible in May. This group will include members of the general public between the ages of 16 and 64.