BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen is asking Idahoans to be patient as the state works to get a large population group vaccinated against COVID-19.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Jeppesen, along with other leaders from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, provided an update on the state's vaccine rollout and took questions from the media.
Idaho has struggled to keep up with demand for the vaccine, especially as the state on Monday expanded eligibility to Idahoans over age 65.
More than 269,000 Idahoans fall into this stage of the vaccine rollout. The rollout was expanded to those over 65 after first being made available to teachers, healthcare workers, emergency responders, corrections employees, and assisted living facility residents and workers, among others.
Jeppesen noted that, because the state is currently receiving only about 25,000 doses of the vaccine a week, it will take "several months" to get those over age 65 vaccinated.
"We ask for the patience of the public and those that are 65 and older," Jeppesen said. "Everyone 65 and older who wants the vaccine will be able to do so, those appointments will happen over the next coming several months."
Due to Idaho's limited supply of doses, many healthcare providers are working to vaccinate the most vulnerable seniors first, with some only accepting appointments from people age 80 and up.
"We are working with our health districts and through our communication offices to make sure we have chances for people to reach out and meet populations where they are, or have their local pharmacy reaching out, or their local public health districts sending flyers or holding events locally to help people navigate that," said Elke Shaw-Tulloch, Idaho's administrator of public health. "I think we're going to have to seek more novel solutions to that as we move forward because that population, it's a large number of people obviously, and we need to implore different ways of connecting people to those appointments."
Idaho is one of just two states that have vaccinated less than 6% of its population. As of Tuesday morning, 103,378 Idahoans had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 22,800 had received both doses.
Jeppesen said that, as of Tuesday, Idaho had received a total of 221,550 doses of the vaccine, and 120,400 doses had already been administered. That leaves about 101,000 doses that have been received by the state but not yet administered to Idahoans.
According to Jeppesen, first doses are generally getting administered within a week of being received by the state. Of the doses that have not been administered, about 47,500 are second doses.
"We have some more work to do to understand why the number of second doses not yet administered is higher than we were expecting," he said.
State health care leaders said last week that they would press federal officials to explain why Idaho was allotted far fewer doses of vaccine than most other states.
According to numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Idaho has been provided with vaccine at a rate of nearly 10,300 doses for every 100,000 residents. The only state allotted less on a per-capita basis is South Carolina.
On Tuesday, Jeppesen said he had spoken with federal officials and learned that the allocation is based on adults 18 and over, not the total population.
"Idaho has the second or third highest proportion of children, or those under 18, in the country," he said. "So that actually reduces our allocation a bit because [our population size] looks smaller than we would normally."
Jeppesen added that the federal government is also using census data that doesn't reflect the state's fast-growing population.
"So we continue to raise with our federal partners that we are not where we need to be in terms of our allocation compared to other states," he said. "What we're asking, as we go forward, is that we get that recalibrated so that Idaho does get its fair share of vaccinations."
For Idahoans who would like to find out more about when and where they can get the vaccine, the Department of Health and Welfare has updated its website with a step-by-step guide explaining who is eligible for the vaccine and when. The website also provides information on local vaccine providers throughout the state.
Earlier on Tuesday, Gov. Brad Little announced that the state would move out of Stage 2 of the coronavirus reopening plan and into Stage 3. The relaxed COVID-19 restrictions across the state come in response to a downward trend of new infections and hospitalizations.
Despite easing restrictions, Little warned that the fight against COVID-19 is far from over.
"This is not a signal to let up on our collective good efforts," Little said. "We must stay vigilant."
Facts not fear: More on coronavirus
See our latest updates in our YouTube playlist: