Just eight minutes after opening Tuesday, Feb. 9, all of Summit County’s vaccine appointments were full, county spokesperson Nicole Valentine wrote in an email. With such high demand and a whole new group of people.
Screenshot from Breckenridge Town Council meeting
If an individual is vaccinated, how should COVID-19 protocols, including masking, affect them? That question was posed to Breckenridge Town Council members at a meeting Tuesday, Jan. 12.
Breckenridge Mayor Eric Mamula said he and other mayors and managers in the county also discussed that scenario at a meeting Thursday, Jan. 7, with the mayor calling the situation “a headache.”
“The science is saying, vaccine or no, you still need to wear a mask because you can still be carrying and can still be shedding the virus,” Mamula said about what was discussed at the meeting last week.
Staff at Bagalis in Frisco sets up for limited in-person dining Dec. 21 after it was cleared to reopen under Summit County’s 5 Star Business Certification Program. The two new Summit County commissioners expressed concerns Tuesday, Jan. 12, that public health rules among industries are not equitable.
At Tuesday’s Summit County Board of Health meeting, newly sworn-in Commissioner Tamara Pogue spoke bluntly, saying she knows many people feel public health decisions are “arbitrary and difficult.”
Pogue said she “has confidence” in Public Health Director Amy Wineland, County Manager Scott Vargo and prior commissioners who steered the county’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic since March. That said, she added, “I really want to fight for balance here.”
Lauren Gearhart flags vehicles through the line at the bus depot in Frisco on Sunday, Dec. 27, when health care workers, first responders and medical professionals received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Summit County residents ages 75 and older are next in line.
Photo by Liz Copan / Studio Copan
Summit County residents who are 75 or older will be eligible to sign up for an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as early as this week.
An update on vaccine distribution was given during the Summit County Board of Health meeting Tuesday, Dec. 29, and Public Health Public Affairs Coordinator Nicole Valentine said a link to make an appointment will be made available on the county’s website.
Photo from St. Anthony Summit Medical Center
As Summit County comes to grips with the news that it won’t be moving out of level red restrictions anytime soon, officials are working to boost local testing and vaccination efforts.
At the Summit County Board of Health meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 15, Public Health Director Amy Wineland presented testing and vaccination updates. At the meeting, Wineland said the county is encouraging everyone, regardless of symptoms or exposure to the virus, to get tested.
“It is really vital that people get tested, especially if they’re out and about and not quarantining themselves in their homes,” she said. “It’s extremely important for anyone with any symptoms, mild symptoms included, to also go get tested. It’s really one of the only tools we’ve had to isolate people and get their close contacts in quarantine.”