Today, the town’s vaccination rate is nearly double the county’s average of 38%, and well above the state average of 52%.Ĭarrie Ball got vaccinated at the clinics and attributes their success to the involvement of people residents knew, and the chance to get the vaccine in their own town. Only five of the people they contacted turned them down. To fill those appointment slots, city clerk Christina Bartlett compiled a list of residents, and councilwoman Diana Olson called each person to schedule. The manager, Ernie Upshaw, helped organize two technicians, Peter Economen and Marie Eich, to do vaccination clinics. Mayor, but we’ll get back to you’.”įinally, Brown landed on the Clearwater Canyon Pharmacy in Orofino. But we’ll get back to you.’ Orofino said ,‘it’s a great idea, Mr. I called the North Idaho Health District, and they said, ‘It’s a great idea. “I really had trouble putting it together. I said, ‘Why don’t you give me a week or so, And maybe we could get them to come up here.’”īrown spent weeks making calls to the local health department and pharmacies to try and set up a vaccine clinic. “The roads are bad, you know, and Lewiston is even farther away, or Moscow. “A lot of people approached me saying that they would like to get the shot, but they don’t want to drive all the way to Orofino,” Wilson said. In January of 2021, the fire chief Wayne Wilson told him he had heard from several residents saying they wanted to get vaccinated, but couldn’t, or wouldn’t, drive to one of the neighboring towns. “We were getting swamped by out of state campers … That scared us, because they were coming through and heading out to the hills and we were afraid that it was gonna catch here in town,” says Dave Brown, the mayor of Elk River. The number of visitors to Elk River skyrocketed, and many residents became nervous about exposure to the virus. When COVID-19 reached the inland Northwest two years ago, more people took to the great outdoors. But aside from a general store and a tavern – there’s few businesses – no pharmacies or health clinics. The population doubles on the weekends when vacation home owners visit.
Most of the town’s 130 permanent residents are seniors. It borders a reservoir and campgrounds that make it popular for recreation and families looking to get away during the summer. Elk River, Idaho, is nestled among a pine forest.
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