.Last year, Blaine County was a hotspot for COVID-19 cases. Now the resort area is leading the state — and most of the country — in vaccinating its citizens.
More than 87% of Blaine County residents ages 12 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
Eighty percent of the county’s residents are fully vaccinated, which puts the county in the top 10 among more than 3,000 counties nationwide, according to healthdata.gov.
The Idaho Press reports Idaho’s statewide average is just 50%.
Home to resort towns Ketchum, Bellevue, Hailey and Sun Valley as well as Carey, Blaine County early in the pandemic was the epicenter of Idaho’s coronavirus outbreak.
Cases are rising again across the county, thanks to the highly infectious delta coronavirus variant, but Blaine County trends identified by the health district show tourists, travelers and unvaccinated people are driving the spike.
