DENVER (KDVR) — Gov. Polis announced today that the state will be moving into Phase 2 of vaccine distribution on Friday. This means that every adult Coloradan will be eligible to sign up for vaccination beginning then.
To date, 2.5 million Coloradans have received a vaccine dose, including 960,000 who are fully vaccinated and another 1.6 million who have received just their first dose.
This equates to nearly half of the state’s population that has some amount of protection through vaccines.
Polis said he expects the state to move through the remaining vaccinations quickly.
“We still anticipate by mid-late May, 6-8 weeks from now, everyone who wants the vaccine will have had the vaccine. It’ll take about 6-8 weeks. That can be a frustrating 6-8 weeks,” Polis said.
Despite the frustration, it may be rewarding in the long run for those who have been waiting months for a shot at immunity from COVID-19. Polis said adding more sites around the state is driving the expansion.
“One of the reasons we are confident in expanding access to the vaccine to everybody is these six sites that will all be up and running, full throttle, by April 2, able to administer as many doses of the vaccine as we get,” Polis said.
The state also plans to continue giving 15% of all the doses to equity clinics for underserved communities. Now, some of those doses will be hitting the road.
“Another thing we’ll be launching very soon, really within the next week or so, are four mobile vaccine buses,” Polis announced. “Pretty snazzy looking, you might see these on the roads. You can always honk your support; these are also designed to reach medically underserved areas.”
These plans coming after the federal government announced a big uptick in vaccine supply.
“We’re being told that Pfizer and Moderna will be increasing by about a million a week. So that’ll be an increase of 16,000 for Colorado,” said Scott Sherman, Brigadier General of the Colorado National Guard.
“And then Johnson and Johnson fixed their supply issues. So, we expect the Johnson and Johnson vaccine quantity to increase significantly,” he said.
The governor is encouraging everyone to stay patient as more people are able to get the vaccine. He said the state is encouraging providers to prioritize older Coloradans and essential workers.