DENVER – The City of Denver has reached President Joe Biden’s milestone to have 70% of the population vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 4.
It’s not clear exactly when the city reached this goal, but in a news release Wednesday afternoon, city officials said 70% of eligible Denverites had received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine this week.
“This is a major accomplishment for our city and a testament the hard work of our residents who have continued to put the health and safety of themselves, their family and their community front and center,” Mayor Michael B. Hancock said in a prepared statement. “As our vaccination rates rise, and thanks to that hard work, we’ve been able to responsibly reopen our city, and I encourage everyone who hasn’t yet to get their shot so we can get across that finish line.”
Hospitalization rates have also dropped significantly, city officials said, with less than 200 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Denver-metro region – the lowest rate since April 4 of this year. Additionally, they said, there has been a 90% reduction in COVID-19 case rates.
“This has been a long road, and we’re grateful to our partners at Denver Public Health and healthcare workers across the region who have worked tirelessly to control this virus and get shots into arms,” said Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) Executive Director Bob McDonald. “We encourage all eligible people to get their vaccine as soon as possible.”
City officials are encouraging those who have not yet received a vaccine to do so “as soon as possible,” as the fight isn’t over just yet.
Officials acknowledged there are still vaccine disparities within the Denver population, which is why the city and the DDPHE will continue to work with community, local, regional, and state partners to close the gap and make sure everyone who wants to get the vaccine is able to do so.
Data from Denver Public Health (DPH) shows a total of 3.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have so far been administered across the Denver metro area, with Denver having the highest vaccination rate at around 800,000 doses administered, and Broomfield coming in last, with just over 86,000 doses being administered as of June 7.
It’s not all bad news for Broomfield, however. Data from DPH shows that county is at the top when it comes to vaccinating people 12 and up, with 77% of that population having received the vaccine as of June 7. Adams County is at the bottom of that ranking with 59.7% of people 12 and up having received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Statewide, 14-day case rates and hospitalizations have also drastically decreased, with only 396 people hospitalized for confirmed cases of the new virus in Colorado. Only 2.6 million Coloradans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which amounts to 47.1% of the population as a whole.
In a statement from Gov. Jared Polis Wednesday night, in total 12 counties have surpassed the 70% vaccination rate goal, which also includes Gunnison, Jefferson, Routt, Boulder, Pitkin, Eagle, Broomfield, Mineral, Summit, San Miguel and San Juan counties.
There have only been 2,916 breakthrough cases (cases of fully vaccinated people re-infected with the novel coronavirus) among the more than 2.6 million people who’ve gotten the vaccine, which state health officials say amounted to 0.1% of all vaccinated Coloradans.
