State officials cite increases in vaccine doses distributed

After trailing most of the nation in vaccine doses administered during the first weeks since the vaccines’ approval, Nevada is now leading the region, competing against states such as California and Arizona, officials said Wednesday at the daily briefing on the state’s COVID-19 response.

Since convening Jan. 6 a group dedicated to tearing down barriers to COVID-19 vaccine distribution, Nevada is administering 76% of doses received, up from 40% on the day of the announcement, said Julia Peek, deputy administrator of Community; Candice McDaniel, health bureau chief for the Bureau of Child, Family, and Community Wellness; and Kyra Morgan, Department of Health and Human Services chief biostatistician during Wednesday’s update on the state’s response to the pandemic.

They announced that the test positivity rate continues to drop slowly, and the 14-day rate as of Wednesday was 16.9%. The 14-day rolling average of daily cases is down to 896. The Nevada Hospital Association reports there are 1,145 COVID-19 hospitalizations (1,040 confirmed, 105 suspected).

The DHHS Office of Analytics on Wednesday added a dashboard tab to provide weekly immunization numbers, with updates each Wednesday. The page includes total doses reported as administered and vaccination rates per 100,000 residents. The dashboard can be found on NVHealthResponse.nv.gov

Through a partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state has eliminated the data entry backlog of approximately 20,000 doses in Southern Nevada, and state and local officials are working to ensure that does not happen in the future.

Peek, McDaniel and Morgan added that equality in the distribution of vaccines is important to the state and that the governor’s office and state health officials will be working closely with the Clark County School District to help reopen the fifth-largest school district in the nation. That includes ensuring the district has state support in all critical safety areas, including contact tracing, testing and other measures.

While the state is encouraging the CCSD and Southern Nevada Health District to work together to prioritize educators, doing so is in line with the existing playbook prioritization.