DENVER – Denver has opened its first COVID-19 vaccination site in Montbello and three others will soon follow, city officials said in a news release Thursday.
The community vaccination site at the Montbello Recreation Center – the first of at least four – opened Thursday. Community sites in west, southwest and northeast Denver are expected to open in the coming days and weeks, though a timeline has not been given by the city.
Currently, only those 65 years and up as well as teachers, childcare workers, paraprofessionals and anyone else who works in a classroom with children can receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Colorado. To learn how to register for an appointment in Denver, click here. Walk-ins will not be accepted. Please note: Educators will need to reach out to their school districts to sign up to get the vaccine.
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The city is focusing on opening community vaccination sites in neighborhoods with a predominantly large population of Latino and Black residents, which have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic, after data showed white people are getting vaccinated at higher rates than Blacks and Latinos across the U.S., including here in Colorado.
City officials said these vaccination sites will also help deliver the vaccine to the elderly, people with disabilities, refugee communities as well as racial and ethnic minority groups that are increased risk of dying from COVID-19, in order to make sure no one is left behind as the vaccine is made widely available.
The city is urging everyone who is now able to get the vaccine to not visit the vaccination community sites without first registering for an appointment, “unless there is an access to technology barrier that we will address with each community vaccination host.”
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For residents who live outside of these communities and who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, you’re asked to go to the city’s vaccine website to learn more about how to sign-up to get the shot.
