Colorado will not begin to offer COVID-19 vaccines to people between the ages of 65 and 70 until supply increases, Gov. Jared Polis said Tuesday, lamenting that the Trump administration hasn’t given states more than several days’ notice about how many doses they will receive.
Polis said he has asked the incoming Biden administration to give Colorado at least 10 days’ notice about the size of upcoming vaccine shipments, saying it’s difficult for hospitals and other providers to plan with such little notice.
The current administration doesn’t tell state officials how many doses are arriving each week until about three or four days before the shipments arrive, he said.
“I let the Biden transition team know that we hope we can get to the point where we have two weeks’ notice, or at least 10 days’ notice, so that every dose can be used even quicker and that appointments won’t have to be canceled because there is no vaccine,” Polis said during a news briefing.
Planning for future vaccine shipments will become even more important following the state’s decision to have hospitals, local public health agencies, pharmacies and other providers go ahead and use doses they were withholding to make sure people received their second shots.
The plan is in line with recent ones announced by both the Trump and Biden administrations. But there are concerns that unexpected delays in vaccine supplies could delay the second shots for some people. Polis has said that if delays occurs, hospitals can reduce their first doses to make sure people receive the booster shots.
Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots in three or four weeks, respectively.
Colorado received about 83,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines this week, which is slightly higher than the roughly 70,000 weekly doses it previously has received. Under Polis’s new guidance to free up doses, more than 120,000 people can get their first shot this week.
As of Sunday, the state had administered 328,533 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines. That includes 49,744 people who have received their second shot, according to the state health department.
Polis has a goal of vaccination 70% of people 70 and older by the end of the February, which he said is based on current weekly allotments.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations have said they want states to make the shots available to people 65 and older. Polis has said the state will do so, but the timeframe will depend on vaccine supply.
“The biggest challenge in setting the specific date now for 65 and up is we don’t know our supplies and how many vaccines we are even going to get next week,” Polis said, adding, “We need to have more visibility of the supply chain.”
This content was originally published here.
