BATON ROUGE - Though many Louisianians feel the COVID vaccine rollout is taking place more slowly than expected, in comparison with other states across the nation, Louisiana's Department of Health and its partners are making significant progress in vaccinating members of the community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Louisiana ranks as 16 nationwide in doses administered per 100,000. So far, over 93,000 doses of COVID vaccines have been sent to nursing homes across the state, and since Friday (Jan. 15) around 10,622 residents and 5,341 staff members have been vaccinated.

Click here to view Louisiana's ranking in comparison with other states, as recorded by the CDC. 

With these inoculations administered, many locals are beginning to feel as though the end of the pandemic is in sight.

They hope that eventually, they'll be able to meet with family members and loved ones in person.

To these individuals, the rollout of the COVID vaccines, though a clearly imperfect process, is a much-appreciated first step towards a brighter future for Louisianians.