Does Idaho Really Have 100,000 Unused Vaccines Doses

You could feel the relief of many Treasure Valley residents when it was announced that vaccines where being shipped to Idaho and that the roll out would start immediately. Here we are 6 weeks later and while there has been some movement in the right direction (132,000 doses administered ). According to a ktvb report we're now finding out that Idaho is dead last in the country when it comes to vaccinations. The even more shocking part is that Idaho currently has 101,000 unused vaccines. Apparently Idaho and Missouri are the only states with less than a 5% vaccination rate.

What is happening and what is being done about it? A Saint Luke's representative that is in charge of ordering the vaccines on a weekly basis says that on average they receive about thirty percent of what they order. The question then becomes why are orders not being filled if we have over 100,000 unused vaccines? Ktvb investigative reporters found out that Walgreens and CVS have about thirty-two thousand doses that were initially reserved for long term care facilities that became eligible in late December. This week over 12,000 will go back to the Idaho Department Of Welfare who will re-distribute them accordingly. What about the remaining doses sitting in providers freezers across the state? The majority of them are for pending appointments or have yet to be administered due to a lack of personnel. For now the best we can do is secure our appointments based on the groups we pertain too and continue to mask up and take precautions per CDC recommendations.