DENVER – While Wednesday’s announcement by government Jared Polis that Colorado people 70 and older will be included in Phase 1B of the vaccine distribution plan was good news for many seniors, too. it was a surprise to local public health departments who were not yet ready to distribute. to the wider group.
Several public health departments across the state said they did not receive notifications of changes in vaccine groups before the announcement Wednesday morning and were left to respond to calls and emails from people in their counties who are they asked when and where they could get vaccinated, but they couldn’t. answer these questions.
Surprise and confusion among health departments, seniors about vaccinating launches in Colorado 70 years or older
“I would say I received emails about 5 minutes after the announcement and we have received hundreds of emails and phone calls since then,” said Chana Goussetis, a Boulder County Public Health spokeswoman.
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Goussetis said the department was trying to answer every email and phone call one by one, but that a plan was underway to include people in the updated Phase 1B and hopefully it would be published next week.
“But we haven’t figured it out yet and we have to ask people to be patient. Right now we don’t have the supply of vaccines for everyone, so we’ll take a while,” he said.
Vaccine shortages that are not yet considered in many Colorado counties are one of the reasons local public health departments, such as Boulder County and Jefferson County, say they are not yet ready for start distribution to the wider group despite Polis hopes the group could receive all of its first vaccines in the next 4-5 weeks.
Jefferson County Public Health said Wednesday evening that vaccination of health and first aid workers continues to be given priority, and that limited vaccine quantities meant they were not yet in extended phase 1B and were still in planning phase.
“As these plans are developed, we will communicate them to our Jefferson County community and key groups that will be vaccinated online, including those aged 70 and over,” JCPH said in a statement.
Summit County announced Wednesday before the governor’s announcement that it would vaccinate people over 75, but changed that group to 70 to stay in line with the state after the announcement. But they have an overdose of vaccine doses and had planned in advance to vaccinate older people on a faster schedule.
“Summit County received several hundred more doses of Modern vaccine than initially planned and we are excited to be able to offer our residents this week in one of the highest risk categories the vaccine to protect themselves,” Summit said. County Director of Public Health, Amy Wineland.
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Health officials had more than 800 doses to begin Wednesday, but say they will need more shipments before vaccinating the roughly 3,000 people aged 70 or older in the county who want to be inoculated.
In Eagle County, vaccination will only be allowed to county residents who are 70 years of age or older. There are three clinics scheduled for next week: Thursday at Eagle, Friday at El Jebel and Saturday at Edwards, where people can be vaccinated. The county will begin scheduling appointments Monday.
In Denver, law enforcement and front-line firefighters began vaccinating this week. The city said it is partnering with Safeway pharmacies to vaccinate health workers and first aid in phases 1A and 1B and that it would work with the state to coordinate vaccination of the broader group 1B and the next two phases.
Grand County said it is in the final stages of Phase 1A and will begin work in the first part of Phase 1B: health workers, lifeguards and people over the age of 70. The county said it would not begin the second part of Phase 1B, which includes front-line essential workers, essential government workers and front-line essential journalists, until it receives specific guidance from the governor’s office and CDPHE.
The Delta County Department of Health said Thursday it is still in Phase 1A and would begin Phase 1B as soon as they finish 1A.
Goussetis said in Boulder County, new additions to Phase 1B amount to about 30,000 more people who could be vaccinated and that the supply of vaccines was much lower.
“So it will still take many months to get the vaccine in everyone’s arms for phase 1,” he said.
Polis and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said the timing for vaccinating Phase 1 recipients depended on the federal supply chain remaining on schedule, but sometimes Colorado and other states have received less. vaccines than they expected.
“We really never know exactly how many vaccines we will have. We don’t know exactly when we will get them, so it’s very difficult to set up clinics to vaccinate people when we don’t know how many we will have, ”Goussetis said.
He advised people not to call their pharmacies to try to find out more about when they might be vaccinated, saying pharmacies don’t know yet.
The CDPHE also includes front-line and essential workers and government employees in 1B, in addition to people aged 70 or over. The department said Wednesday in a statement it expects to have vaccinated “most phase 1A health workers” on Jan. 15.
The CDPHE said it is “coordinating with local public health agencies, health care providers, pharmacies and various community partners” to distribute the vaccine through phase 1. Some of the group will be vaccinated through their employer. , a public health agency, a vaccine provider, or through a federal long-term federal pharmacy association program.
“For people who do not get a vaccine through one of these options, the state is actively working with local public health agencies to determine which additional providers will vaccinate members of groups 1A and 1B. Several counties plan to hold clinics of mass vaccination for members of their communities.In the coming days and as more information is finalized, we will post additional locations for vaccine distribution on the state’s website, ”the CDPHE said in a statement on Wednesday.
Denver Health said it is a matter of doing a quick follow-up of vaccinating “as many people in the extended group as possible over the next few weeks” and said priority would be given to patients 70 and older who have received medical care in a Denver health center last three years.
“We look forward to starting vaccinating these high-priority people immediately and reaching out to patients and staff the week of January 4 with more information on when and where they can be scheduled. Our accelerated efforts are likely to include offering vaccines on the Denver Health campus, at our community health centers and use our mobile health clinics, “Denver Health said in a statement.
Centura Health said it is in the process of notifying 1B recipients, finalizing which clinics they will work with, and doubling the clinic’s capacity. The company said it would invite people 70 and older to be vaccinated through its Centura account and email. Centura said they will choose a list of patients who meet the requirements for the group and that a computer will randomize who gets the vaccine first.
UCHealth said it had begun providing vaccines to a limited number of people over the age of 75 because it has a limited number of vaccines, but that it will soon be extended to. People aged 70 or over. The company said it will also send messages to customers ’My Health Connection accounts that will allow them to schedule an appointment. But they said people should remain patient.
“Invitations are randomly sent to those in that age group through the electronic patient 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 at this time, the random selection and appointment process helps ensure that the process is safe, fair and just for everyone. . Plans are also being developed to offer vaccines to underserved populations and those without a My Health Connection account.
Several Coloradans about 70 years of age or older expressed frustration with the lack of clarity about when they could be vaccinated.
“You told me I can get this vaccine, but don’t tell me how and don’t tell me when,” said Mitch Cannon, 73, who said he didn’t find the state’s COHELP phone line useful. and vaccination websites.
“They couldn’t tell you much and everything is pre-recorded,” Cannon added.
Tim Gognat, a 69-year-old Lakewood resident who turns 70 in the spring and says he has pre-existing conditions, said he spent the morning on the phone and called his doctor and another before calling the line. direct.
“It took me 30 minutes of retention to get in touch with someone who was there. They didn’t have any guide or they couldn’t provide me with a place to go or ask me about the vaccine, ”he said.“ So there seems to be quite a bit of confusion in terms of availability and time.
“It would be really important for the governor’s office and public health officials to clear things up with news organizations and the general public. It would avoid a lot of confusion and a lot of futile effort,” Gognat added.
In an interview with Denver7 on Thursday, Governor Polis told people to be patient and stay on their 4-5-week timeline to vaccinate the group of people age 70 or older with their first dose.
“I know no one wants to be patient; now we all want it, right? Your provider will contact you when there is an opportunity to make an appointment. But look, if you’re over 70, you’ll be able to get it in 4 to 5 weeks, “Polis said.” … I know it’s hard to be patient, and days matter because you want to stay with your grandchildren. , your family and you want to go out. But we will overcome the whole group of 70 years and more in 4 to 5 weeks “.
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