Colorado is on pace to vaccinate 70% of its adult residents against COVID-19 by Independence Day, meeting the national goal President Joe Biden announced in May.
As of Wednesday, 69.6% of Coloradans 18 and older — or more than 3.1 million adults, including more than 450,000 people 70 and older — have received at least one dose of the vaccine, state health officials said in a news release this week. They expect the state will reach its goal by Sunday.
In total, 3.2 million Coloradans 12 and older have been immunized and another 2.9 million are fully inoculated, according to state data released Thursday.
The state’s vaccination rate is “a testament to the spirit and resilience of Coloradans,” Gov. Jared Polis said in the release. “People across our state wore masks, socially distanced and are now doing their part by getting vaccinated and starting to enjoy their summer of freedom.”
Denver County has vaccinated 74.6% of its residents 18 and older, Denver Public Health Data Applications Supervisor Dean McEwen said in an email.
In total, Denver County has vaccinated 73.2% of its eligible residents 12 and older. It was one of 12 Colorado counties to reach the national vaccination goal by early June, along with San Juan, San Miguel, Pitkin, Summit, Eagle, Mineral, Broomfield, Boulder, Routt, Gunnison and Jefferson counties.
No additional counties have reached the 70% vaccination threshold since then, including El Paso County.
El Paso County has vaccinated 53.2% of residents 18 and older, a figure county Public Health spokesman Jared Verner said Thursday was an underestimate because it does not include federal numbers, like vaccines administered at military installations.
County data not including federal numbers show nearly 311,000 residents 12 and older — 51% of the population — have had at least one dose. Another 281,000, or 46.2%, have been fully vaccinated.
El Paso County is not expecting to hit the federal inoculation goal by Sunday, Verner said, but will continue local efforts to encourage vaccinations.
“The COVID-19 vaccines remain incredibly effective at preventing serious illness and death,” he said. “… While our case numbers have decreased, the virus is still circulating in our community, and the vaccines are the best preventative tool we have.”
Though not improving as quickly as other large counties in the state, the average number of COVID-19 cases in El Paso County has dropped in recent weeks and hit a low in early June not seen since before the winter peak.
According to county data, the weekly average number of new coronavirus cases is about 58 per 100,000 people. El Paso County still trails behind other large counties like Denver, Jefferson, Douglas, Adams and Arapahoe, all with a weekly average rate of fewer than 31 new cases per 100,000 people, state data show.
El Paso County Public Health officials have called the local downward trend “encouraging,” but have acknowledged more work is needed to continue driving down the disease rate, particularly with the presence of several highly transmissible variants such as the Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2.
To that end, county Public Health opened a new drive-thru vaccination site at The Citadel mall Thursday as a replacement to the recently closed state site at the Broadmoor World Arena, Verner said.
Vaccine providers across the county are also offering same-day and walk-in appointments, and the state has mailed information and run a call campaign to encourage immunization among unvaccinated residents, he said.
“As more transmissible variants have evolved, the vaccines have continued to show good protection against serious illness, but those who are unvaccinated are the ones who are at the greatest risk for infection,” Verner said.
All Coloradans 12 and older may receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Find a vaccine provider near you on the state vaccination website, covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine/where-you-can-get-vaccinated.
This content was originally published here.
