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CASPER, Wyo. — While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt, the number of vaccines and tests given out by the Casper-Natrona County Health Department were down in 2022 from the prior year.
That was the word from the health department, which recently released data from the past year. According to statistics from health department Executive Director Anna Kinder, the health department administered 15,793 vaccinations of all sorts, including for COVID-19 and flu. The Casper-Natrona County Health Department also performed 28,245 coronavirus tests in the past year.
“Things did get better in 2022 in comparison to ’20 and ’21,” health department Public Information Officer Hailey Bloom said. “We had a big spike very early in 2022, and then after that things became stable and leveled out.”
Bloom said there were several reasons the numbers declined, including the fact that many people already received vaccinations and boosters in 2021 and the wider proliferation of testing and vaccines.
Early in the pandemic, Bloom said, the health department was one of the few places locally that people could go to get tested and be vaccinated. Over time, however, access spread. Now, pharmacies, stores and other locations are able to provide vaccines and testing, too.
“A big part of the reason we gave out fewer tests and vaccines is simply that there are more places doing it now,” she said. “Still, COVID is never far out of our minds. It’s something we think about and deal with every single day.”
As the height of the pandemic increasingly becomes a thing of the past, Bloom said it also frees up staff at the health department to focus on their day-to-day duties.
“Back when COVID numbers were high, it was all-hands-on-deck,” she said. “Everyone was having to take on extra duties as the pandemic became such a priority. Now that numbers have started falling, a lot of them are able to get back to focusing on what their normal responsibilities are.”
In total, the health department processed 8,754 insurance claims in 2022, handled 651 family planning visits and 2,361 maternal child health visits, helped 64 individuals navigate cancer treatment and distributed 8,045 prevention materials.
Funding became something of an issue in 2022, Bloom said. In the prior years, state and federal funds due to the pandemic were put to use by the department. This past year, though, many of those funding avenues were no longer available.
“People in the healthcare field are resourceful. We were able to still do what needed to be done,” Bloom said, “but it was different than it’s been in recent years.”
Looking to the future, the Casper-Natrona County Health Department has many things planned for 2023. Among them is the continued search for a new building, Bloom said.
“We’re basically out of space, and using a lot across the street,” she said. “The need is there, but the pandemic is really what drove it home. We needed more space to distance safely; we needed a drive-thru for testing but we didn’t have the capabilities for one.”
Despite some challenges, though, Bloom said she thinks the future is bright for the department.
“We’re thankful to the community,” she said. “They’re a big part of what allows us to do what we do.”
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