Persistence Pays Off For 2 Members Of Colorado's Now-Vaccinated 70+ Population
(CBS4) - President Joe Biden's announcement that his administration is pushing out 16% more vaccine starting next week is welcome news in Colorado, but still far from what the state wants.
"Colorado's distribution plan is designed to move as fast as the federal supply chain allows," the CDPHE said in a statement. "We are ready to immediately use three to four times as many vaccines as we are currently getting each week right away."
The state is estimated to get an additional 14,080 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
"I think there is a frustration with supply," said June Ray of Fort Collins.
Ray, 75 and her husband Bob, 73, were able to fine initial vaccine doses, but it wasn't easy.
"We signed up for UCHealth, we signed up for Safeway, Walgreens. We drove to Longmont to a hospital in case there was a vaccine that they hadn't quite used."
None of it worked.
Finally they got an email from Kaiser Permanente at about 5 a.m. Her husband spotted it and immediately tried to sign up.
"First attempt they tried to give him appointments in Pueblo."
But he was able to get appointments in Lone Tree, so they made the long drive.
"Which worked out beautifully, however I got a Moderna and my husband got a Pfizer. So we're just going to have to drive twice."
Worth the trouble, though.
The additional vaccine will hopefully make it easier to find.
"We think we have saturated 1A," said Tri-County Health's Immunization Nurse Manager Karen Miller, also a part of the state's Vaccine Planning Team.
"We are still vaccinating some of the moderate risk 1B health care workers. We are continuing to vaccinate first responders as well. We anticipate that we will be complete with that population in the next week, maybe two weeks," said Miller.
That will mean more of the vaccine coming in, devoted to getting the 70+ population done by the end of February.
"Even as soon as next week when we start to see these increased vaccine allocation amounts we anticipate that we will be able to vaccinate more of that 70+ population."
Additionally with vaccinations at long-term care facilities wrapping up, there will be greater options for 70+.
"When the take into account not having to hold back vaccine for the long term care facility pharmacy partnerships that increases the number of doses that are available in our communities as well."
More vaccine providers are ready to go when the supplies come in. Miller says Colorado has 744 providers signed up.
"A little over a hundred providers haven't even received the vaccine to give and yet they are enrolled and ready to give the vaccine," said Miller.
About 600.
Many providers are still figuring out what they can accomplish. The state has yet to figure out what its maximum capacity is. Miller noted it's still a work in progress.
There are still hurdles for the older population in terms of signups.
"A lot of our friends are still looking for the vaccine and some are good at technology and some are not," said Ray. "I think some of them hardly don't' know how to use their phones, let alone technology."
Calls to the state's vaccine hotline bloomed Monday to over 5,000.
"And the frustration of calling up and trying to get an appointment, and you wait and wait and wait and then you can't."
But she's glad they kept at it. Ray is looking forward to the second dose and said she can't wait to just go out and sit at a restaurant.
