Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Monday activated his state’s National Guard due to staffing shortages at several state agencies. The 75 or so Guard members will be used to assist Primary Health and the Idaho Department of Correction, which are both experiencing staffing shortages due to COVID-19 absences, his office said in a statement. Little said he secured about 500 additional personnel to assist state hospitals dealing with COVID-19 cases. “The strain on health care, schools, business, and government from the spread of COVID-19 is a reminder that we are not out of the pandemic, and we need to be vigilant about keeping ourselves and our loved ones healthy,” Little, a Republican, said in a statement. Currently, Idaho does not employ a vaccine mandate for any of its agencies and joined a coalition of GOP-led states that filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandate for …