“You are not forgotten”: El Paso County asks for patience in vaccine rollout
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — El Paso County Public Health is working on a phone number for people to call with COVID-19 vaccine-related questions.
The Medical Director for the health department, Dr. Robin Johnson, is excited about the public’s eagerness for vaccine details.
“It’s really thrilling,” Johnson said. “And I wish we had anticipated this much enthusiasm. I’m really excited for what that means as we move into this public health preventive measure.”
Johnson said there will be a way for frontline workers and anyone 70 and older to find out their vaccination date and location eventually, but not quite yet.
She emphasized that vaccine eligibility is not the same as vaccine availability. Johnson said Phase 1 vaccine providers in El Paso County are working to get the doses administered as quickly as possible.
“You are not forgotten,” Johnson said. “We recognize the need to get there, but it’s also not like you’ve missed the party. You have the invitation and we will let you know the date as soon as we have the piñatas ready.”
Johnson said that the county learned about Gov. Jared Polis’s decision to give people 70 and older and some frontline workers higher vaccine priority at the same time the public did.
El Paso County Public Health encourages people to check elpasocountyhealth.org for updates on vaccine distribution. However, the county recognizes not everyone eligible for the vaccine will have access to a computer or the internet. That’s partially why a COVID-19 vaccine hotline is in the works.
Children's Hospital Colorado Colorado Springs is currently providing the second round of vaccinations to their staff who met the criteria under Phase 1A. They plan to start vaccinating those in Phase 1B in the coming week.
Pueblo Public Health is nearly ready to vaccinate people 70 and older. The health department said it will release information on how people in that age group can sign up for a vaccine in the coming days. People can check pueblohealth.org in the meantime.
Public Health Director Randy Evetts said vaccine distribution in Pueblo County is moving faster than anticipated.
“We are expecting to complete that first round of vaccines for that 1A and half of 1B by the end of this week,” Evetts said.
Evetts expects the second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to healthcare workers in Phase 1A by Jan. 16.
Vaccines are disbursed to state by the Federal Government based on population.
Johnson said half of the doses we receive are being held as second doses for people who have already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
