70% of eligible El Paso County residents have at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- It was months ago that Gov. Jared Polis announced 70% of eligible Coloradans in the state had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and now El Paso County has reached that mark.

According to an announcement EPC Public Health sent on Wednesday, 70% of eligible residents in the county have now received at least one dose of the vaccine. That works out to about 426,700 people since the beginning of the rollout.

The County says older age groups have a higher vaccination rate, with nearly 83% of those 60 or older vaccinated with at least one dose. Comparatively, about 50% of those 18-39 are vaccinated, according to EPC Public Health Director Susan Wheelan.

While Colorado has been steadily providing COVID-19 vaccines, El Paso County saw lower vaccination rates all through the summer compared to other high-population counties in the state. Denver reached that mark in June, according to the Denver Post.

While 70% is "a remarkable milestone," according to El Paso County Public Health, the county still has a COVID-19 incidence rate over 300 per 100,000 as of Wednesday. Hospitalizations in the county also rose significantly in early October, with recent days seeing a slight drop in new COVID-19 patients.

"Unvaccinated individuals make up approximately 85 percent of those hospitalized with COVID-19 in El Paso County, putting additional stress on the hospital system," El Paso County Public Health said in a statement.

In total, about 716,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in El Paso County, according to Public Health. About 388,000 people in the county are considered "fully vaccinated," according to federal estimates provided by EPC Public Health.