State reaches COVID-19 vaccination milestone

The state of South Dakota reached a milestone in COVID-19 vaccinations this weekend.  On Saturday, the state Department of Health announced that the percentage of residents who had received at least one dose of the vaccine had reached the 50-percent threshold.  This places South Dakota among the top nationwide leaders in vaccination efforts.  Approximately 35-percent of the state’s population had been fully vaccinated against the virus as of Saturday.

One week ago, the state Department of Health began Phase-2 of the state’s vaccination plan, making vaccines available to all state residents 16 and over.

Over the weekend, another 238 new positive COVID-19 cases were reported in the state.  No new virus-related deaths were reported, but the number of people hospitalized increased and the number of active cases decreased.

Lake County reported one new positive COVID-19 case and ten recovered cases, decreasing the county’s number of active cases to 37.  The only area county to report an increase in active cases since Friday was Brookings County, where there are now 172 active coronavirus cases. 

Statewide COVID-19 information is updated daily here.