COVID-19

On Monday, people 65 and older could start getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Idaho. But the supply is limited by the amount of doses sent to Idaho and distributed to health systems. The demand for vaccine appointments was so high Monday that St. Luke's Health System reported their slots were snapped up that morning, and Saint Alphonsus Health System had to cancel previously scheduled appointments after they didn't receive doses they were expecting.

Idaho is moving forward into Stage 3 of Gov. Brad Little’s reopening plan as case counts and hospitalizations have fallen since their peaks in December.

Idaho Senate Republicans are defending their decision to divert $4 million into the legislature’s legal defense fund. Two court cases are pending that demand the legislature impose more protections against the spread of COVID 19.

Central District Health Director Russ Duke is probably one of the busiest people in Idaho’s public health sector. As leader of that district, he helps administer policy and practices for Idaho’s most populous health district, covering Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley Counties. 

Governor Brad Little’s pushback against state senators trying to kill his emergency declaration has succeeded – for now.

Monday Feb. 1, Idaho will open the COVID-19 vaccine to people 65 and older. The state warns that the group — which includes 269,000 Idahoans while the state is receiving just 21,000 doses of the vaccine each week — will take time to vaccinate. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic was raging last fall - with unprecedented infections and hospitalizations - most of the calls coming into the Central District Health hotline concerned infection.  But now, the overwhelming number of calls concern particulars surrounding the COVID vaccine.

The Idaho state Capitol has reported its second confirmed case of COVID-19 among staff, prompting some lawmakers to call for tighter controls.

The Idaho House overwhelmingly voted to lift all limits on gatherings Monday as lawmakers move to repeal the governor’s pandemic restrictions.

Gov. Brad Little issued a stinging rebuke to Republican lawmakers Friday, saying they were playing a “shameful” game that threatens the state’s pandemic recovery by trying to repeal Idaho’s emergency declaration.

During a Friday news conference called earlier that morning, Gov. Brad Little sharply criticized fellow Republicans in the legislature pushing to limit emergency declarations to 30 days. Earlier in the week, state lawmakers in the House approved a bill that would allow the legislature to call itself back into session without the governor's approval. 

The Idaho legislature is moving swiftly to use $4 million in taxpayer dollars to refresh its depleted legal defense funds as Republican leaders face multiple lawsuits claiming they haven’t done enough to ensure the safety of those with disabilities at the state Capitol during the pandemic.

The first piece of legislation passed by the House during the 2021 Idaho legislative session would allow lawmakers to call themselves back into session at any point in the year.

The City Club of Boise heard from former legislators and pundits about the issues that will shape the 2021 Idaho session, and the challenges of governing in a global pandemic. 

Some of the Mountain West's COVID-19 hotspots have been, and continue to be, areas with major ski resorts.

Tuesday, the U.S. marked 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus exactly one year to the day since the first case was diagnosed in our country. More than 1,600 of those deaths have happened in Idaho. The good news: almost 11,000 Idahoans have received their COVID-19 vaccination.