STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

St. Luke’s mobile vaccine clinic will make the rounds of the Wood River Valley again Thursday through Saturday.

It is the vaccination bus’s first stop in the Wood River Valley since May. But its mission is more urgent than ever with the Delta variant driving up cases of illness and hospitalizations in the state. With older Americans vaccinated, the virus is targeting young people.

The vaccination bus will offer free COVID-19 vaccinations for those 12 and older. People can just walk up for a vaccine without having to schedule an appointment in advance.

The retrofitted recreational vehicle will make these stops:

• Thursday, Aug. 19, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Hunger Coalition on Honeysuckle Lane in Bellevue
• Friday, Aug. 20—10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Community Campus in Hailey

  3 to 7 p.m. 600 N. Main St. in Bellevue

• Saturday, Aug. 21—11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hailey Hot Wheels show in Roberta McKercher Park.

The state reported 780 new cases of COVID with nine new deaths on Friday, the last day cases were reported. At least 2,245 Idahoans have died from COVID. About 99 percent of those who end up hospitalized with the virus or dying from it are unvaccinated, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.