COVID In Colorado: Providers To Open Vaccine Clinics In Underserved Areas

DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is expanding outreach programs to make sure everyone who is eligible has a chance to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine. The state announced on Thursday it is partnering with providers to open pop-up vaccine clinics in underserved areas.

"We recognize that health disparities are not a result of individual choices, but rather the institutional and systemic barriers that have existed long before the pandemic. But we certainly have goals and are monitoring closely groups by race and ethnicity to make sure that we have enough pop-up clinics in the right places," said CDPHE Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan.

Ryan said the state's equity initiative aims to open community-based vaccination clinics in 50% of the top 50 census tracks for high density of low income and minority communities.

CDPHE updates vaccine distribution by race and ethnicity on its COVID-19 vaccine dashboard. As of Thursday, 74% of people vaccinated in Colorado are white, 5% are Hispanic and 2% are Black. For context, nearly 22% of the state's population is Hispanic and nearly 4% is Black.

Vaccine providers are not required to collect data on race or ethnicity, which is why about 14% of the state's vaccine data on race and ethnicity is listed as unknown.