BOISE — Idaho continues to strongly recommend wearing masks in public to reduce the spread of COVID-19, even as the state’s vaccine rollout expands.
“Wear the right kind of mask and wear it properly,” Gov. Brad Little said today during an AARP tele-town half about the COVID-19 pandemic, responding to questions from callers.
Dr. Christine Hahn, state epidemiologist, said, “We continue to strongly recommend that people continue to wear masks,” even after they’re vaccinated. “Keeping distance and wearing masks is the best tool that we have until we have enough herd immunity that we can hopefully move on from this,” Hahn said. “But right now, it’s what we feel is the best thing for people to do.”
Idaho so far has seen 93 “breakthrough” cases of fully vaccinated Idahoans testing positive for COVID-19, said state Health & Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen. But Hahn said that figure is low and in the range that’s expected for vaccines with 95% efficacy.
“No vaccine is 100%,” she said. “We knew we would see some people who get the vaccine and still get COVID, but there are two things we’re looking for.” Those are a big decrease in the number of people getting infected, and for those who do contract the virus, significantly less severe illness. Both appear to be the case, Hahn said.
“We’re tracking them very carefully to make sure we aren’t seeing more than we would have expected, and that they’re not severely ill.” So far, she said, it’s “looking good.”
Little added, “The efficacy of the vaccine in preventing hospitalization in severe cases is even above the 95%. … You may get COVID if you’ve been vaccinated, but the risk of getting severe COVID is just demonstrably less, there’s no comparison.”
Little said eastern Idaho continues to have concerning rates of COVID-19 infection. “The highest one this morning is Bonneville County, at 40 cases per 100,000,” he said. “But the state average is 14. So that’s where we’re most concerned. We are looking to get more vaccine over there.”
Little said he was on a call this morning with the White House and most of the nation’s governors.
Hahn said, “We’re very concerned to hear that in the northeastern part of the country and even into the Midwest, they are seeing some increases in cases. We haven’t seen that in Idaho yet. … We’re very aware that could happen. That’s why we continue to urge all Idahoans, even if they’ve been vaccinated, to continue to wear a mask when you’re out in public, to keep socially distanced, to wash your hands and of course stay home if you’re sick.”
One viewer on Facebook submitted this question: “Will they be forcing us to get a vaccination?”
“No,” the governor responded forcefully. Lupe Wissel, state director for AARP Idaho, said amid laughter, “Well, that was easy.”
Jeppesen said, “We will continue to invite all of those that want to get vaccinated to do so. … It’s really the best solution we have, to get back to some level of normalcy.”
Little said, “We’ve got the vast majority of our senior population vaccinated, but don’t hesitate if you’re in that population. It’s still critically important that you get vaccinated.”
Idaho will open vaccine eligibility on Monday to all Idahoans age 16 and older.
Jeppesen reported that 68 of Idaho’s 400 long-term care facilities currently have active COVID-19 cases, down from a high of more than 200. Among Idahoans age 65 and older, 67.1% have had at least one shot of the vaccine; for those ages 75-84, that figure is now just over 70%.
The state last week launched ads encouraging Idahoans to get vaccinated. The state’s pre-registration signup system, at covidvaccine.idaho.gov, has seen more than 100,000 signups, and more than half of them have now received their first shot. Jeppesen said those who don’t want to sign up online can call their local health district to be added to the signup system.
“This is all good,” Little said. “The only thing that we’re really concerned about is the variants, and the kind of ebb and flow of increased infection rates in the states. … I feel pretty good about where we are. I’d feel a lot better if we had 70 or 80% of our population vaccinated, but we’ve got a plan to get there.”
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Idaho encourages continued mask-wearing, even as vaccine rollout expands - bigcountrynewsconnection.com
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