Colorado again revised how it’s prioritizing the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, as the governor announced Wednesday that the state will begin administering shots to a wider pool of people before hospitals and long-term-care facilities finish inoculating their frontline workers and residents.
Gov. Jared Polis said the state is moving to the latter half of Phase 1 of its vaccine distribution plan, a stage now expanded to include all Coloradans 70 and older, teachers, grocery store employees and other essential workers, alongside originally scheduled first responders and health care workers with less contact with coronavirus patients.
But Polis’ announcement lacked specific details about how and when the people who were moved up from Phase 2 to Phase 1B on Wednesday will be vaccinated, sparking confusion and catching some local public health officials off guard. Health care providers and county health departments reported fielding calls all day from people wanting to know when they can be inoculated.
In Boulder County, public health officials learned about the new additions to Phase 1B only when the governor revealed the changes during a news briefing. Chana Goussetis, spokeswoman for Boulder County Health, said the agency estimates there are 30,000 people who are 70 and older in the county.
“As you know, the vaccine is still limited, so it will take many months for us to be able to complete Phase 1 of vaccination,” Goussetis said, noting Boulder County received only 700 doses this week.
UCHealth spokeswoman Paula Freund said the hospital network is still busy vaccinating its frontline health care workers and first responders. When enough vaccine is available, the health care system will reach out to patients that meet the other criteria for Phase 1B to let them know they can schedule an appointment.
People are not able to walk in to get the shots, Freund said.
“We ask everyone to please be patient,” she said. “This is not going to happen in one day.”
Jeffco Public Health officials echoed that sentiment, saying that because of limited vaccine quantities they’re not ready to move deeper into Phase 1B. As efforts to secure more doses continue, spokeswoman Nicole Work said, “We will communicate (our plans) to our Jefferson County community and to key groups who are next in line to be vaccinated, including those 70 and older.”
Summit County, however, was ready to begin expanding its vaccination pool, announcing Wednesday that it would start taking reservations for residents 70 and older to be inoculated at the health department’s drive-thru clinic or Safeway and City Market pharmacies.
But Summit County also is still working to vaccinate health care workers in the initial half of Phase 1. And this week’s vaccine allotment for the county contains 814 doses, while there are slightly fewer than 3,000 residents in the 70-and-older demographic.
It’s not surprising that Colorado has revamped its plan — the state’s top public health official, Jill Hunsaker Ryan, said this month the health department eventually would prioritize the large pool of people assigned to Phase 2.
Colorado’s Phase 1A, which began with the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 14, includes frontline health staffers who work most closely with COVID-19 patients and residents and staff members of nursing homes.
It is expected that Colorado will have vaccinated most of the health care workers in the initial half of Phase 1 by Jan. 15, according to a news release from the health department.
The newly expanded Phase 1B now includes, in addition to Coloradans age 70 and older, teachers, postal workers, grocery store employees, people who work in homeless shelters, public transit workers and other frontline workers, as well as essential state government officials and frontline journalists.
There are an estimated 125,000 moderate-risk health care workers and EMS first responders. With the changes, there are now an additional 1.19 million people in the phase who are either essential workers or meet the age criteria of 70 years and older, according to the state health department.
Phase 2, expected to begin this spring, now will include anyone 60 to 69 rather than anyone 65 and older; those ages 16 to 59 with health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, chronic lung disease and significant heart disease, which put them at greater risk; other essential workers and local government officials; and adults who received a placebo during a COVID-19 vaccine trial.
But the changes come as vaccine supply remains very limited and distribution is still a challenge. They also follow the state’s discovery of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus that has medical and public health officials concerned about increased transmission of COVID-19.
Polis said the state made this change because the 70-and-older group makes up a large share of COVID-19 deaths.
“To end the acute phase of the crisis, the potential for overrunning our hospitals, bring the death rate down, saving lives, ending the pandemic, we wanted to focus those initial doses on age 70 and up,” he said.
The state will work with local public health departments and employers about setting up programs to vaccinate frontline workers, teachers, grocery workers and state workers under Phase 1B.
State officials have not yet said how people who are part of the general population but 70 and older will get the vaccine. It will depend partly on availability of the vaccine in their area, and some hospitals are still working to make sure everyone in the first group receive their shots, Polis said.
The state health department said in an email that it is working with local public health agencies to find more providers to help distribute the vaccine.
People who qualify for Phase 1 will receive the vaccine via their employer, local public health agency or health care provider. Some counties will hold vaccination clinics, according to a news release by the agency.
” In the coming days and as more information becomes finalized, we will publish additional locations for vaccine distribution on the state’s website,” said the news release.
Colorado first revised its vaccine plan in early December, moving to prioritize the protection of medical personnel most at risk of exposure and people more likely to develop severe symptoms or die from the disease. In doing so, the state also deprioritized prisoners and people living in facilities such as homeless shelters after Polis was pressured politically.
The state began distributing its initial doses to health care workers in direct contact with coronavirus patients two and a half weeks ago as prioritized under Phase 1A. Staff members and residents of long-term-care facilities also make up those who are expected to get the initial doses.
Since then Colorado has received at least 170,480 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines through the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed. So far the state has administered more than 91,000 doses.
Vaccination clinics at nursing homes only began Monday and are scheduled to run at least through mid-January, said Doug Farmer, president and CEO of the Colorado Health Care Association. He did not know of any assisted-living facilities having a date to start vaccinations yet.
“It is an interesting development that we’re getting into Phase 1B when Phase 1A isn’t entirely off the ground,” Farmer said.
Denver Post reporter Meg Wingerter contributed to this report.
Updated 7:40 p.m. Dec. 30, 2020 This story has been corrected to show Phase 2 vaccinations include people between the ages of 60 and 69. A slide presented by the governor’s office earlier in the day included incorrect information.
