Eagle County, which has the largest Latino population among the three counties making up the Roaring Fork Valley and surrounding environs, 60% of white people have received one dose, compared with 15% of Latinos, who make up 29.6% of Eagle’s population. A racial equity gap in vaccination appears less pronounced in Pitkin and Garfield counties; however, those counties have higher proportions of residents who did not report their race upon being vaccinated, which can skew results. Yet the disparity remains clear.
/ Carbondale-based Sylvia Johnson shared the stories of people such as Jose. The project was made possible by National Geographic Society’s Emergency Fund for Journalists and created in collaboration with Garfield County Public Health.
Carbondale-based artist Sylvia Johnson spent part of the pandemic working as a contact tracer in Garfield County. Her conversations with people who had COVID-19 became a source of inspiration, which she has now turned into a storytelling project. “La Vacuna es Para Nosotros,” or “The Vaccine is for Us” highlights the voices of Spanish-speaking Garfield County residents to share their stories and encourage more people to get vaccinated.
Ray K. Erku / Post Independent
The excitement in Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus driver Ronda McCarroll’s voice ricocheted off every nook and cranny of the make-shift waiting room.
Garfield County Public Health hosted a free walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Rifle on Saturday, and McCarroll had just brought her 20-year-old son, Jeremiah McCarroll.
He sat quietly beside his mother, looking at his smartphone, a ticket officially confirming he received his vaccination underneath.
Ronda McCarroll was ecstatic.
“The more people that get it, the more we can get herd immunity, and then slowly we can get rid of the masks, and slowly start doing what we used to do,” she said. “Because you miss a handshake… I’m a hugging type of person I like to hug. I haven’t had a hug in over a year. I’m having a hug withdrawal.”