Health officials urge vaccines as Idaho lags behind

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - We're two years into the pandemic, and doctors are still echoing the same message.

"To really get this under control, we need the vaccine," said Dr. Todd Bagwell, who works in Infectious Disease at EIRMC.

The nationwide vaccination rate sits at 64% with many individual states lagging behind — including Idaho and Wyoming.

Idaho is the fifth worst state for vaccination rates, sitting at just 53% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

"It's a difficult problem to overcome," Dr. Bagwell said.

Dr. Bagwell said while he doesn't have a solution for Idaho's low vaccination rate, they're "working on it."

Other health officials, like NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, are still urging everyone to do their part to stop the virus' transmission.

“Put aside all of these issues of concern about liberties and personal liberties and realize we have a common enemy, and that common enemy is virus," Dr. Fauci said. "And we really have to all pull together to get on top of this, otherwise we're going to continue to suffer.”

So, why the hesitancy?

A November 2021 survey found that the top reason Idahoans said they weren't vaccinated was because they believed they had immunity from a previous COVID-19 infection.

But while natural immunity does offer some protection, Dr. Bagwell said the ideal would be to have natural immunity plus vaccine-induced immunity — that offers the best protection against reinfection and severe complications.

"If you've got the vaccine, you do not end up in our ICU. Bottom line," Dr. Bagwell said.

To schedule your vaccination appointment, visit vaccines.gov.