DENVER — Those wanting to get vaccinated against COVID-19 should have no problems accomplishing that objective in Colorado.
Earlier this month, the state opened vaccine eligibility to all residents 16 and older and now demand appears to have dropped off, opening up thousands of appointments for those wanting to be inoculated against the virus.
SCL Health said it is beginning to see a challenge of COVID-19 vaccine supply and appointment availability outstripping demand. SCL Health currently has hundreds of vaccine appointments available at its community clinics. This week, it has started to see demand slow as more places offer the vaccine, plus vaccine hesitation.
“We’ve reached a point in time where the people who were ready for the vaccine right away have received one; now we have to reach others who may have barriers to getting vaccinated or hesitation to do so," said Ron Sparks, vice president of ancillary operations, who helps lead SCL Health’s vaccination efforts.
Appointments are available by registering at sclhealth.org/covidvaccine.
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Centura Health is offering thousands of appointments on Thursday in Commerce City for patients needing their second dose of the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine. Centura said Thursday’s drive-up vaccine event at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park will focus solely on administering second doses of Moderna for these patients.
Individuals who are interested in this event should have received their first dose of Moderna vaccine before April 2 to be eligible. They may register at www.centura.org/vaccineusing the Commerce City Drive-Up Event link.
With about one-third of eligible Coloradans fully vaccinated and about half of the population having received their first dose, the state opened up three of the mass vaccination clinics for drive-in and walk-in vaccines that do not require appointments.
The mass vaccine sites at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo County, The Ranch Events Complex in Larimer County and Ball Arena in Denver are open for people to walk up or drive up to be vaccinated. They will also continue to accept appointments online or by calling 720-263-5737.
The fairground site operates Friday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site at The Ranch operates Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And the Ball Arena site in Denver operates Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Colorado officials on Tuesday praised the effectiveness of the vaccine in the state, saying fully-vaccinated Coloradans are at least 94.6% less likely to get infected with COVID-19.
The state released data showing 819 "breakthrough" cases of people getting the virus after getting vaccinated, though the number of breakthrough cases compares to more than 1.4 million Coloradans who are fully vaccinated.
Among the breakthrough cases, three have resulted in hospitalizations, state epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy said.
