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BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Public health officials say extreme winter conditions in the United States have prevented any coronavirus vaccine from being shipped to Idaho this week, potentially delaying some vaccination efforts.
The news comes as officials from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare also announced on Friday that a man from Idaho had been infected with a variant of the coronavirus first detected in South Africa. . The variant, believed to be more infectious and potentially more virulent than the strain already prevalent in Idaho, has been reported in 19 cases found in 10 other states so far. This is the first time that the South African variant has been confirmed in Idaho.
The man had recently traveled overseas and was reportedly exposed before returning to Idaho, officials from the Department of Health and Welfare and the Southwest District of Health said. Officials were working to identify people who may have had close contact with the infected man.
Public health officials are concerned about the South African variant because it contains a mutation in the spike protein characteristic of the virus, targeted by existing vaccines. Two other variants – one first discovered in California and the other in the UK – were also recently found in wastewater tested in several towns in Ada County.
“We are not surprised to find this virus in Idaho,” state epidemiologist Dr. Christine Hahn said in a prepared statement. “As we just learned from Boise City’s wastewater testing program this week, strain variants have arrived in the state. We remind the people of Idaho to continue to wear masks, physically distance themselves, wash their hands frequently, and stay home when they are sick. Besides getting us vaccinated as soon as they are available to you, these actions are the best things we can do right now. “
However, some Idaho residents may have their immunization appointments temporarily postponed. Like many other states in the country, Idaho shipments have been delayed by severe winter conditions, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesman Zachary Clark confirmed on Friday.
Some vaccine vendors go to great lengths to make sure people can get their second vaccine on time. The second vaccines are necessary for recipients to be fully immunized, and they are supposed to be administered within a strict timeframe: five weeks from the first vaccine for Moderna vaccine and about three weeks after the first vaccine for Pfizer vaccine. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that under extreme circumstances, booster shots can be safely delayed, however.
Primary Health Medical Group, Idaho’s largest independent medical group, has loaned approximately 1,400 doses of Moderna to Idaho’s largest hospital system to ensure people programmed with St. Luke’s Health System for receiving their second dose this weekend wouldn’t have to happen.
St. Luke’s will return the same number of doses to Primary Health once the weather improves and the delayed shipment arrives, said St. Luke spokesperson Anita Kissée. She said the hospital system appreciates primary health’s willingness to “share this precious resource and lend a helping hand.”
Idaho’s delayed doses are believed to still be stored at the facilities where they were manufactured, Clark said, so officials don’t believe there is a risk of spoilage.
State health officials have held daily weather meetings with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine when the delayed vaccine will arrive in Idaho, said Sarah Leeds, head of the vaccination program. of Idaho.
“We’re really, really staying there,” Leeds told members of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee on Friday afternoon. “We know that if we don’t receive shipments by Monday, many of our suppliers will have important appointments to reschedule.”
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