Citadel Mall Vaccination Site to Close in an effort to shift back to normal healthcare infrastructure

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Tuesday is the last day the Citadel Mall Covid-19 vaccination site will be open to the public.

Although this site will no longer offer Covid-19 vaccinations, it will still remain open as a drive-through testing site.

The Colorado state health department made the decision to close the site in an effort to shift back to normal operations. The goal is to have residents get their vaccinations from their health providers. Such as their doctor or pharmacy.

"This is just a step back to normal health care infrastructure where folks get their vaccines with their primary care doctor, at a pharmacy or the health department," El Paso County Public Health Department Immunization Program Manager Kristi Durbin said. "It's just a step back to normal."

Those who don't have health insurance can make an appointment to receive a vaccine free of charge at the El Paso County Public Health Department.

"We encourage everybody to be up to date with their Covid vaccines," Durbin said. "That includes making sure you have your booster. We wanna make sure people are protected, especially going into the holidays."

The Citadel vaccination site administered 2,473 Covid-19 vaccines between Sep. 9 and Nov. 5. 2,349 of which were the new Omicron vaccine. Between Oct. 31 and Nov. 5 the site administered 202 vaccines. 194 were the new Omicron vaccine.

"The booster currently available now is the Bivalent booster," Durbin said. "It's different than the primary series folks received. So we encourage people to go get that booster done. It just needs to be two months since your last dose."

As of Friday, Nov. 4, El Paso County is currently seeing a 14% positivity rate among those who get tested. On top of vaccination, health officials encourage everyone to continue to test for signs of any symptoms or exposure. Whether that's at home or at a public testing site, and report positive results.

To find a Covid-19 vaccination site near you, visit the CDC or the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Vaccine tab.