DENVER – While Wednesday’s announcement by Governor Jared Polis that Coloradans would be 70 years and older in Phase 1B of the vaccine distribution plan was welcomed by many seniors, it was also a surprise to local public health departments not yet ready. was not to distribute to the broader group.
Several public health departments across the state said they were not notified of the changes to the vaccine groups prior to the announcement Wednesday morning, and they were left to answer phone calls and emails from people in their provinces, wondering when and where they can be vaccinated but can not answer the questions.
Surprise and confusion among health departments, elderly people about the deployment of vaccines to Coloradans 70+
“I would say that I received emails about five minutes after the announcement and that we have received hundreds of emails and calls since then,” said Chana Goussetis, a spokeswoman for Boulder County Public Health.
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Goussetis said the department is trying to respond to each email and phone call one by one, but that a plan to include the people in the updated Phase 1B is in the works and will hopefully be released next week.
‘But we just did not realize it and we also have to ask people to be patient. We do not currently have the vaccine supply for everyone, so it will take a while, ‘she said.
The vaccine shortage, which has not yet been offset in many counties in Colorado, is one of the reasons why local public health departments, such as Boulder County and Jefferson County, say they are not yet ready to distribute to the broader group. , despite Polis’ hopes on Wednesday that the broader group could all possibly get their first vaccines in the next 4-5 weeks.
Jefferson County Public Health said Wednesday night that vaccination of health workers and first responders is constantly being prioritized, and that limited amounts of the vaccine mean they are not yet in Phase 1B and are still in the planning phase.
“As the plans develop further, we will communicate this to our Jefferson County community and to key groups who will receive the next vaccinations, including those 70 years and older,” JCPH said in a statement.
Summit County announced before the governor’s announcement Wednesday that it should vaccinate people aged 75+, but changed the group to 70+ to be in line with the state. But they have a surplus of vaccine doses and have planned in advance to vaccinate the elderly on a faster timeline.
“Summit County has received several hundred doses of Moderna vaccine than originally provided, and we are pleased to be able to offer residents in one of the highest risk categories the chance to protect themselves this week,” Summit said. County said. Director of Public Health, Amy Wineland.
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Health officials there have had more than 800 doses to start the day Wednesday, but say they will need more shipments before they can vaccinate the roughly 3,000 people aged 70+ in the country who want to be vaccinated.
In Eagle County, only residents of the county age 70 and older may receive the vaccine. There are three clinics next week – Thursday in Eagle, Friday in El Jebel and Saturday in Edwards – where people can be vaccinated. The country will begin planning appointments on Monday.
In Denver, the leading law enforcers and firefighters vaccinated this week. The city said it has a partnership with Safeway Pharmacies to vaccinate health workers and first responders in phases 1A and 1B, and that they will work with the state to form the broader 1B group and the next two phases that follow, to coordinate.
Grand County said it is in the final phase of Phase 1A and will soon begin the first phase of Phase 1B – healthcare workers, first responders and people over 70 -. The province has said it will not start with the second phase of Phase 1B – which includes essential frontline workers, essential government workers and frontline journalists – until it receives specific guidance from the governors’ office and CDPHE.
The Delta County Health Department said Thursday they are still in Phase 1A and will begin Phase 1B as soon as they finish 1A.
Goussetis said the new additions to Phase 1B in Boulder County are about 30,000 more people who could possibly be vaccinated, and that the vaccine supply is much less.
“It will therefore take several more months to get the vaccine into the arms of all the people for phase 1,” she said.
Police and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said the timetable for vaccinating Phase 1 recipients depends on the federal supply chain continuing on schedule, but Colorado and other states have sometimes received fewer vaccinations than they expected.
‘We do not really know exactly how many vaccines we will have. “We do not know exactly when we will get it, so it is very difficult to set up clinics to vaccinate people if we do not know how much we will have,” said Goussetis.
She advised people not to call their pharmacies to find out more about when they can be vaccinated, and says the pharmacies do not know this yet.
The CDPHE also includes leading and essential workers and civil servants in 1B, in addition to people aged 70 and over. The department said in a news release on Wednesday that it expects to have “the majority of Phase 1A health workers vaccinated” by January 15.
The CDPHE said it was ‘coordinating with local public health agencies, healthcare providers, pharmacies and various community partners’ to distribute the vaccine through Phase 1. Some in the group will be vaccinated by their employer, a public health agency, a vaccine provider . or through a federal long-term pharmacy partnership program.
“For individuals who do not receive any of the one vaccine, the state is actively working with local public health agencies to determine which additional providers will vaccinate members of groups 1A and 1B. Several provinces plan to hold mass vaccination clinics for members of their communities. “In the coming days and as more information is finalized, we will publish additional vaccine distribution sites on the state’s website,” the CDPHE said in the Wednesday statement.
Denver Health said it was rapidly making plans to vaccinate “as many people as possible in the extended group in the coming weeks”, and said preference would be given to patients 70 years and older who are medically in A Denver Health institution for the past three years.
‘We hope to vaccinate these high-priority individuals immediately and will contact patients and staff with information on when and where they can be scheduled for the week of January 4th. “Our accelerated efforts are likely to include on-campus vaccinations at Denver Health, at our community health centers and the use of our mobile health clinics,” Denver Health said in a statement.
Centura Health said it is currently notifying 1B recipients, finalizing which clinics they will be working with and doubling the capacity of shot clinics. The company said they would invite people 70 and older to be vaccinated via their Centura account and email address. Centura said it would select a list of patients who qualify for the group, and randomize a computer randomly who receives the first vaccine.
UCHealth said it has started providing vaccines to a limited number of elderly people aged 75 and over because it has a limited number of vaccines, but that it will soon expand to. People 70 and older. The company said it would also send messages to My My Health Connection accounts to make an appointment. But they said people need to be patient.
“Invitations are sent randomly to those in this age group via the patients’ electronic medical record portal, known as My Health Connection,” the company said. “While the supply of coronavirus vaccines for older adults is still very limited and insufficient to vaccinate everyone, the random selection and appointment process helps to ensure that the process is safe, secure and fair for all. Plans are also being developed to offer vaccines to the underprivileged and those who do not have a My Health Connection account. ”
Several Coloradans who are nearly 70 years old or older have expressed frustrations about the lack of clarity about when they can be vaccinated.
“You told me I could get this vaccine, but you did not tell me how and you did not tell me when,” said Mitch Cannon, 73. He said he found the COHELP hotline and vaccination sites of the state useless.
“They could not tell you anything and it was all pre-recorded,” Cannon added.
Tim Gognat, a 69-year-old Lakewood resident who turns 70 in the spring and says he has conditions, said he spent the morning telephoning and calling his doctor and another before calling the hotline.
‘It took me 30 minutes to get in touch with someone there. “They had no guidance, or they could not find the place where I could go or inquire about the vaccine,” he said. “So there seems to be quite a bit of confusion in terms of availability and timing.”
‘It would be really important if the governors’ office and public health officials clarified things with the news organizations and the general public. It would avoid a lot of confusion and a lot of wasted effort, ”Gognat added.
In an interview with Denver7 on Thursday, Governor Polis said they need to be patient and stick to his 4-5 week timeline to get the group of people 70 years and older vaccinated with their first dose.
‘I know no one wants to be patient; we all want it now, right? Your service provider will contact you if there is an opportunity to make an appointment. But look, if you are older than 70, you will be able to get it within 4-5 weeks, ‘said Polis. ‘… I know it’s hard to be patient, and days are important because you want to hang out with your grandchildren, your family and a family. But we will get through the whole group of 70 years and older in four to five weeks. ”
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