State and El Paso County at odds over COVID vaccine distribution
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- El Paso County is vaccinating seniors 70 and older at a much lower rate compared to Denver or Pueblo counties.
But the reason for the difference depends on which officials you ask.
County health officials say they haven't received their fair share of the COVID-19 vaccine but a spokesperson with the Governor's Office says there are currently 10,000 doses of the vaccine sitting on shelves in the county.
On Tuesday, the El Paso County Public Health Department said the county was at a disadvantage because it hadn't received an equitable amount of vaccines compared to other counties. County health officials also told 13 Investigates that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was aware of the discrepancy and had pledged to make it right by sending more COVID-19 vaccines to El Paso County.
Conor Cahill, a spokesperson for Gov. Jared Polis, released this statement to KRDO Wednesday evening after we pressed for answers on the apparent vaccine shortfall in El Paso County.
“The State is working hard to ensure there is equitable and rapid distribution of this life-saving and crisis-ending vaccine. To that end, we strive for geographical parity but we also prioritize replenishing providers who are rapidly getting shots in arms. El Paso has sent the state a list of providers to send vaccines to but unfortunately, our system shows a slow administration of the vaccine and they have over 10,000 doses sitting on shelves in El Paso County. We are happy to send more doses to El Paso as soon as they use the doses already they have.”
Conor Cahill, Gov. Jared Polis' office
Michelle Hewitt, a spokesperson for EPC Public Health, said the county does not have access to the data the governor's office is referencing and that is "completely inconsistent" with the conversations county health officials have had with CDPHE.
KRDO pressed state health officials Wednesday on the vaccine shortfall that EPC Public Health is reporting.
“If you do the comparison by county by county population then no it is not equal. But that’s not the only way we evaluate the appropriate equitable allocation of vaccines. It is not purely on a county population basis," CDPHE's COVID-19 incident commander, Scott Bookman said.
Bookman explained that the state vaccine distribution process is based on multiple factors.
“When we get our vaccine allocation each week from the federal government, we really assess where each county, where each region in the state is in their progress to phase completion," Bookman explained. "So analyzing how many 70+, how many of their frontline care workers have their vaccine completed. And that’s how we identify our weekly allocation."
CDPHE said it was working closely with EPC health leaders to address their concerns, including the planning of a mass vaccination event in the next few weeks.
