Coronavirus trendline, 4.30.21: Vaccination numbers continue to tail off

 

Idaho’s coronavirus vaccine rollout passed a significant milestone — but vaccinations continued to slow down.

The state has now administered more than 1 million vaccines. But slightly less than 60,000 of those jabs came in the past week — the lowest seven-day rate since mid-February.

From March 20 to 26, barely a month ago, the state administered close to 93,000 vaccinations.

While vaccinations slowed significantly, new case numbers were virtually unchanged.

As of Friday afternoon, the state and its seven health districts reported 187,740 confirmed or probable coronavirus cases, a 0.8 percent weekly increase.

The week’s 1,438 new cases represent only a marginal increase from the previous week.

In other coronavirus headlines from the week:

No money for testing. The House rejected a bill that would have allowed Idaho to use $40 million of federal money for voluntary school COVID testing. Some lawmakers questioned the cost. One, Middleton Republican Tammy Nichols, falsely claimed children do not spread the coronavirus.

Relaxed CDC guidelines. As more Americans and Idahoans complete their vaccinations, the Centers for Disease Control issued new guidelines — saying fully vaccinated adults can safely go unmasked in some outdoor settings. (Details from States Newsroom.)

Here are this week’s numbers, and comparisons with the previous week:

Statewide data April 23 April 30 Change, April 17-23 Change, April 24-30
Cases, confirmed and probable 186,302 187,740 1,416 1,438
Deaths 2,031 2,046 14 15
Patients ever hospitalized 8,033 8,113 90 80
Patients ever admitted to ICU 1,368 1,376 7 8
Idahoans vaccinated 585,090 603,715 25,122 18,625
Idahoans fully vaccinated 444,371 486,271 45,261 41,900
Vaccine doses administered 997,994 1,057,549 70,329 59,555
‘Breakthrough’ cases

(vaccinated Idahoans who later test positive)

179 200 25 21
Total tests administered 1,256,053 1,276,141 21,983 20,088
Health care workers infected 10,402 10,469 99 67
Patients recovered, estimated 105,732 107,255 1,521 1,523
Total cases, ages 0-4 2,865 2,895 28 30
Total cases, ages 5-12 7,144 7,236 77 92
Total cases, ages 13-17 10,814 10,908 116 94
Total cases, ages 18-29 46,529 46,919 415 390

Weekly positive test rate, as reported by the state: 4.3 percent for week ending April 24, down from 4.6 percent the previous week.

Top 10 counties, by total cases April 23 April 30 New cases, April 24-30 New cases per day, per 100,000 population
Ada 51,116 51,614 498 14.8
Canyon 26,243 26,441 198 12.3
Kootenai 17,610 17,782 172 14.8
Bonneville 14,708 14,807 99 11.9
Twin Falls 9,354 9,440 86 14.1
   
Bannock 8,640 8,713 73 11.9
Madison 7,117 7,149 32 11.5
Bingham 4,807 4,823 16 4.9
Nez Perce 3,557 3,585 28 9.9
Bonner 3,205 3,221 16 5.0
   
Ten hotspot counties (most daily cases, per 100,000 population) April 23 April 30 New cases,

April 24-30

New cases per day, per 100,000 spopulation
Boise 346 355 9 16.4
Payette 2,510 2,536 26 15.5
Kootenai 17,610 17,782 172 14.8
Ada 51,116 51,614 498 14.8
Twin Falls 9,354 9,440 86 14.1
Bear Lake 378 384 6 14.0
Elmore 1,954 1,980 26 13.5
Shoshone 1,079 1,091 12 13.3
Canyon 26,243 26,441 198 12.3
Latah 3,066 3,100 34 12.1
Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

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