Riverton resident Bill Burleson waits out the 15-minute observation period following his second COVID-19 vaccination shot Feb. 12, 2020 at the Fremont County Public Health office in Riverton. (Katie Klingsporn)

Though Wyoming’s COVID-19 vaccination rate has picked up, the percentage of residents who say they’ll get vaccinated hasn’t followed suit. 

Some 62% of Wyoming residents say they are very or somewhat likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available, or have already received at least one dose, according to a new survey by the University of Wyoming’s Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center. That percentage hasn’t changed since early November. 

Meanwhile, 7% of respondents say they are somewhat unlikely and 31% say they are very unlikely to receive it. Concerns about side effects remain a major reason.

“A majority of those who have not yet received the vaccine say they do not have enough information about the potential side effects,” Brian Harnisch, senior research scientist in charge of the project at WYSAC, said in a release. “Additionally, it appears that residents still have questions about the effectiveness of the vaccine, as well as when and where people like them will be able to get the vaccine.”

Vaccine distribution continued to dominate the healthcare system across the state this week, with many providers inoculating residents farther down the state’s 1B priority group list. New vaccination sites also joined the distribution push, including Walmart stores. 

As of Thursday, more than 76,000 Wyoming residents had received a first dose, while more than 32,000 had gotten their second. The state has received 83,675 first doses and 43,700 second doses. 

“While overall available vaccine dose amounts remain low right now compared to high demand, we are seeing modest, continued increases in shipments we receive from the federal government of the authorized vaccines as well as more partners and providers coming on board,” Angie Van Houten, Community Health Section chief with the Department of Health, said in a Feb. 12 release.

However, the wintry weather that slammed into much of the country since then has impacted vaccine shipments, the DOH said, likely causing delays. 

The state’s vaccine rollout has paralleled a steady decline of infections, and Wyoming’s COVID-19 metrics saw marked improvements again this week.

This graphic from the White House Coronavirus Task Force’s weekly state profile report of Wyoming tracks new COVID-19 cases. (beta.health.gov)

Attitudes in the WYSAC survey suggest a measure of relief — or perhaps fatigue — regarding these trends. 

Since November, the percentage of respondents who report being very or fairly anxious about the spread in Wyoming has dropped. A plurality of survey respondents, 35%, say they believe the worst is behind us in Wyoming. And the percentage of respondents who say they are following the news about COVID-19 “very closely” has declined, from a high of 57% in March to 29% in February. 

One thing that remains of high concern in Wyoming: the pandemic’s economic impact. Some 61% said they are very concerned about COVID-19’s effect on the economy, while 32% are somewhat concerned. 

Meanwhile, the state’s COVID-19 infection numbers continued a positive downward trend.

Known active cases dipped to 720 by Friday morning, down 11% from last week, and hospitalizations hit 32 by Thursday, the lowest that number has been since Oct. 4. The Department of Health reported 15 COVID-19 related deaths — the lowest weekly tally since the third week of October and eight fewer than last week — bringing the state’s total to 662. 

All told, Wyoming has tallied 45,471 lab-confirmed infections. That includes 356 new cases this week.

According to a Feb. 14 weekly report issued by the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force, four Wyoming counties are in the “red” zone for infections, down one from the week before. They are Teton, Carbon, Bighorn and Converse. 

Crook and Niobrara counties, meanwhile, reported zero active cases by Friday morning. 

If vaccination goes favorably, the University of Wyoming is planning for a fall 2021 semester with more in-person experiences and fewer pandemic restrictions. 

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UW faculty, staff and students living in residence halls are slated to be eligible for the vaccine as part of Wyoming’s 1c phase, according to UW. Under the college’s plan, faculty and staff members would need to have access to the vaccine at least six weeks ahead of the scheduled Aug. 23 start of the fall semester for the semester to proceed with face-to-face classes at maximum capacity, in-person student engagement programs and in-person athletic events.

“Much could change between now and the start of the fall semester, including transmission of new variants of the virus and other unforeseen developments,” UW President Ed Seidel said in a release. “However, we see great reason for optimism that we’ll have much more of a pre-pandemic campus environment this fall.”

Katie Klingsporn reports on outdoor recreation, public lands, education and general news for WyoFile. She’s been a journalist and editor covering the American West for 20 years. Her freelance work has...

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  1. I keep hearing contradictory statements about the vaccine in Wyoming. First, there aren’t enough because so many individuals want one. Second that many people distrust the vaccine and won’t be getting the shots. This raises suspicions that the first statement (you’ll have to wait, because too many people want the vaccine) is just a cover up. And people are being forced to wait due to a slow roll out and other problems with state management of the program. I hope WyoFile will investigate. A slow response won’t recover the economy.

  2. There are a suprising number of deaths in Sheridan Wyoming of thoses in their thirties to early sixties in the last three weeks, and this is a pretty small town . Most are not reported as covid deaths…

  3. Things everyone should consider: (1) this is the first MRNA based vaccine therapy approved for use in the US – the long term impacts are not known (e.g., could spike protein in the vaccines cause blood clots, brain inflammation and heart attacks), (2) the “vaccines” were not fully tested – animal trials were not completed and the potential for pathogenic priming, which occurred in previous coronavirus “vaccines”, has not been sufficiently ruled out, (3) the manufacturers and the FDA have reported that the “vaccines” do not prevent individuals from becoming infected or from spreading infection to others, they merely reduce the impact of symptoms. So masks and distancing will still be mandated and herd immunity is not attainable.