Significant boost in COVID-19 vaccinations headed to El Paso County this week, public health officials say
El Paso County is expected to receive an increase in COVID-19 vaccines by the tens of thousands this week, a month and a half after El Paso County officials and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers first raised concerns the county was not receiving its fair share of vaccines.
Public Health Director Susan Wheelan told county commissioners Tuesday the state health department will send nearly 42,000 vaccine doses to El Paso County this week. That includes 2,000 vaccine doses to be used at a new drive-up vaccine clinic at the Broadmoor World Arena that Centura Health will launch Wednesday morning and operate Fridays through Mondays. The county could see between 7,000 to 8,000 additional vaccine doses a week, she said.
The increase in supply is key because eligibility is set to expand again on Friday to include those age 50 and older and other groups, and open to the general public by mid-April.
El Paso County received just 15,000 vaccine doses last week — a smaller amount than weeks prior, Wheelan said, because of the blizzard that ripped through the Front Range over the weekend, shutting down major roadways and forcing the cancelation of several planned vaccine clinics. Two weeks ago, the county received just over 27,000 vaccine doses, data from El Paso County Public Health show.
The increase will allow health providers to administer around 5,300 doses a day, compared to the current daily average of 3,300, Wheelan said.
As the vaccine supply continues to increase, Wheelan said she expects the number of vaccines administered in the county will be proportional to its population in a few weeks.
How quickly the county can vaccinate more people depends on staffing levels at each clinic, she said. El Paso County Public Health has requested the state health department provide additional health care workers at its new building in Fountain during the months of April and May, and the state is sending eight more vaccinators to help at equity clinics across the county this weekend.
“We know that we have one of the largest populations in the state of Colorado … and we need to be ready and poised to offer vaccine as quickly as possible to those that want it,” Wheelan said.
El Paso County Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez said Tuesday he was happy to see the county’s calls for increased vaccine “starting to bear fruit.”
Gonzalez has been a vocal critic of the vaccine disparity and last week submitted a complaint to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office asking they investigate the matter.
Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman in the state Attorney General’s Office, said by email Monday it “does not comment on complaints or confirm or deny the existence of investigations.”
Commissioner Stan VanderWerf thanked the state health department for their efforts to ramp up vaccine supply to El Paso County.
“It’s not like we always agree on everything, but it is really important to thank anybody that’s really helping us out,” he said. “I think that increase in vaccine is a great indicator of that willingness to support.”
County data show nearly 10% of all residents are fully vaccinated, and 67% of residents aged 70 and older have been vaccinated. Wheelan said Tuesday it’s likely the county has reached its goal to vaccinate 70% of its 70-plus population because county vaccination data does not include doses distributed directly to veterans and members of the military through the federal government or those in nursing homes.
“When you pair the state supplies with the federal supplies, that’s going to bump us up a few percentage (points),” she said. Public Health is working to add the number of federal vaccine supplies to its vaccine data dashboard, she said.
Though the county will still likely face challenges in its fight against the sometimes deadly disease in the coming months, increased vaccine supplies and expanded local vaccination plans provide hope, she said.
“I think this is very encouraging and a lot of progress, given where we were last year,” she said.
The Gazette’s Mary Shinn contributed to this story.