New COVID Booster Drops This Fall — But Don’t Expect Wyoming to Line Up for It

A fresh COVID-19 booster is hitting clinics this fall — but in Wyoming? Don’t expect a stampede.

The state’s got a long-standing streak of vaccine hesitancy, and new polling shows that most Americans — not just folks in the Cowboy State — aren’t keen on rolling up their sleeves again either. A KFF health policy survey found that 59% of Americans say they’ll “definitely not” or “probably not” get the updated shot.

In Wyoming, that sentiment is nothing new. According to Teton County coroner and family doc Brent Blue, it’s all about the state’s independent streak.

“Wyoming folks tend to be sort of Libertarian and don’t want the government telling them what to do,” Blue told Cowboy State Daily. “If the government recommends it, they’re not going to do it.”

He’s not expecting much of a bump in local vaccination rates — unless a new, “really bad strain” of COVID rolls through. His bigger concern? A rise in preventable diseases like measles and pertussis among unvaccinated kids.

Much of the hesitation around COVID shots — in Wyoming and across the US — follows party lines. Republicans are far less likely than Democrats to get vaccinated.

State Rep. Tom Kelly (R-Sheridan), who sponsored a bill to cut Wyoming off from federal health mandates like masks and vaccines, said it’s not about being anti-vax — it’s about choice.

“I believe in the autonomy of human beings,” Kelly said. “People who want the vaccine should be able to get it. But I don’t think it’s necessary for healthy people who’ve already had COVID.”

Kelly’s also skeptical about the long-term effects of the vaccine — and said pushing people to get it during the early rollout was “reckless.”

Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Park County) chimed in too, saying the real issue is transparency.

“If more people knew what’s in the COVID-19 shot, perhaps fewer people would take it,” she said, praising federal health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for promoting “informed consent.”

Despite the skepticism, Dr. Alexia Harrist, Wyoming’s state health officer, says the Department of Health will be ready when the new shot drops.

“We can’t predict what vaccine uptake will look like,” Harrist said, “but WDH encourages all residents to talk to their health care providers as respiratory season approaches.”

She emphasized that the updated vaccine helps prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and long COVID, even if it doesn’t stop every infection.

And she offered a reminder: Not getting this shot doesn’t make you anti-vax.

“Most people in Wyoming still vaccinate against diseases like measles and pertussis,” Harrist added.

According to the WDH’s Respiratory Disease Dashboard, COVID-19 hasn’t gone away entirely:

• 26 COVID-19 cases reported statewide the week of July 20.
• Just 1 flu case that same week.

The booster will be out soon. Clinics will be stocked. But in Wyoming, don’t expect a big rush to get it — unless something changes fast.

The original story by Jackson Walker for Cowboy State Daily.