El Paso Co. to get thousands of vaccines following KRDO investigation

COLORADO SPRING, Colo. (KRDO) -- El Paso County Public Health announced it is getting a second large shipment of COVID-19 vaccines this week after a KRDO revealed the county wasn't getting its fair share of doses.

El Paso County is set to get more than 20,000 doses of vaccine, which is about two-thirds more than its average doses over the last few weeks, according to county health leaders.

New data released by El Paso County health leaders show a huge increase in the number of seniors 70 and up who received their first dose. In one week, the number of eligible seniors getting vaccinated went up 12.6%. The new data shows that 4 out of 10 seniors living in El Paso County have received their first vaccine.

However, health data shows El Paso County still has a fair bit of catching up to do, after getting shortchanged vaccines for weeks.

For instance in Denver County, roughly five out of 10 eligible seniors have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

During a one-on-one interview with White House officials on Tuesday, KRDO asked what the Biden administration was doing to make sure vaccine allocation was fair.

White House Deputy Communications Director, Kate Berner, touted the administration's national vaccination program, including mass vaccination sites at football stadiums.

We need to meet people where they are, especially to distribute the vaccine equitable," Berner said. "In recent weeks, we've announced our pharmacy vaccination program, so local pharmacies will receive vaccine supply directly and be able to vaccinate their communities. A lot of folks have local pharmacies that they know and trust and live within five miles of."