Aurora Opens Hundreds Of COVID Vaccine Appointments This Weekend
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – Finding a vaccine appointment has been difficult for people from all backgrounds, but barriers like computer access and transportation make it especially hard for our underserved community. The City of Aurora has hundreds of open vaccine appointments throughout the weekend. The drive-thru clinic is their latest effort to reach those with trouble getting access.
"What we are trying to do is get into our neighborhoods of color, like our Latino communities, our Korean, Southeast Asian, Hindi. We want everyone to have the same opportunity to be vaccinated," said Kendall Koca, manager of special projects for the office of city management for Aurora.
The clinic Saturday and Sunday at the Aurora Municipal Center located at 15151 E. Alameda Parkway in Aurora.
Friday afternoon, Koca says there are about 700 open vaccine appointments. Both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccine will be offered this weekend, but not Johnson & Johnson, despite the FDA saying they're safe to use again.
"We decided to just kind of wait and see. We don't want to be the trial for that. We want to make sure that we're using tried and true vaccines for our city for our residents," said Koca. Koca says it's about trust, and many of the residents in this targeted community may already be vaccine-hesitant.
Typically, these clinics are for people receiving their first dose. Koca says they won't turn away the people who had trouble setting up their second.
"Some people were given a first dose someplace else but not directed where to get their second dose. We are very open to accommodate those second dosers as well," said Koca.
Appointments are recommended but not required this weekend. People between the ages of 16 and 18 will have to come on Saturday, as the Pfizer vaccine won't be administered Sunday
Sign up for an appointment: April 24 (Pfizer) and April 25 (Moderna).
