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.
The state of Colorado anticipates opening the next phase of vaccine distribution, known as 1B.3, in mid-March.
That phase is to include frontline workers in the food service and grocery sectors, public transit, agriculture, direct care providers, human services and other occupations deemed “essential.”
It also makes the vaccine available to anyone ages 16-64 with a qualifying high-risk chronic condition.
That will greatly increase the number of people within the general population who are eligible to receive the vaccine.
To prepare, Garfield County Public Health is planning to have more COVID-19 vaccine clinics starting at the same time, Public Health Specialist Carrie Godes said.
Immunization Coordinator Laurie Cohen holds a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in the Community Health Services building in Aspen on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Once the second round of the COVID-19 vaccine is administered, Niki Delson said the relief and gratitude people feel is totally tangible.
It’s one year into the pandemic and some people are feeling burnt out on quarantine, but finishing off the double dose of the vaccination, Delson said, brightens the light at the end of the tunnel.
“The feeling of people after they get their vaccine it’s almost like you want to raise your hand and say, ‘Hallelujah!’ …you can see in people’s eyes…a kind of sense of relief that maybe life can return to some normalcy and you can hug somebody in the future,” Delson said.
Eagle County Smiles helping uninsured children keep proper hygiene vaildaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from vaildaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
More than 1,500 COVID-19 second-dose vaccine appointments scheduled for Friday in Garfield County have been canceled and will be rescheduled, due to shipment delays caused by winter storms across the country.
The delay means about 1,000 people previously scheduled to receive their second dose booster shot at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, and another 400 at Grand River Health in Rifle, will see their appointments delayed until next week.
Valley View appointments are being rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24, and Grand River and Mountain Family Health Center appointments are being rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25.
“Valley View apologizes to those affected by this change, but these are circumstances outside of the organization’s control,” Valley View Hospital Community Relations Officer Stacey Gavrell said in a Thursday morning news release explaining the situation.