Vaccine eligibility expanded in north-central Idaho

Residents of north-central Idaho as young as 55 years old are among those who now qualify to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The Public Health – Idaho North Central District decided to lower the eligibility age for the shots after seeing a “considerable slowdown” in appointments among seniors 65 years old and older, front-line workers and others who had qualified previously, said District Director Carol Moehrle in a news release issued Tuesday.

As of last week, 47% of the 22,000 people in Nez Perce, Latah, Clearwater, Idaho and Lewis counties who are 65 and older had received a first dose, according to a news release.

That compares with about 55% of people 65 and older statewide who have had at least one shot as of Tuesday, said Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen in a media briefing.

The North Central District allowed factory employees and other front-line personnel, like grocery store workers, to start being immunized earlier this week, ahead of Monday, when the state had previously planned to move to that group.

That happened because the number of people seeking immunizations in north central Idaho had diminished.

As state health districts open the vaccines to more groups, the state is working on strategies to encourage a higher number of people to get shots.

A poll of Idaho residents 18 years and older found about 60% were “anxiously waiting” to be vaccinated if they hadn’t already been immunized, about 20% were interested and another 20% were “never ever, ever” going to accept the vaccine or be much harder to convince, Jeppesen said.

That compares to estimates from experts that anywhere from 80% to 90% of the population would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

The state is working on the group that is somewhat hesitant but not opposed to the vaccine with efforts such as making sure medical professionals have accurate information to share with patients to resolve their concerns, he said.

The vaccines are safe, have been thoroughly tested and have “side effects, but they are relatively minor,” Jeppesen said.