The Spot: An overarching look at Colorado’s vaccination process and the politics within – The Denver Post
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Vaccines, like pretty much anything else during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been politicized and heavily scrutinized. This week, The Spot is taking a closer look at vaccines, where and how they’ve happened and what’s to come.
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Capitol Diary
It might feel like things are getting back to normal — to hear Douglas County officials tell it, the pandemic is in fact over — but we’ve got a ways to go to reach herd immunity.
About 39% of Coloradans (more than 2.2 million people) have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine and 21% are fully vaccinated. The state wants to get at least above 70% overall.
Gov. Jared Polis celebrated the progress over the weekend, issuing a statement that read, “This is the greatest national effort since World War II and I’m incredibly proud. … Thanks to the efforts of modern science, we’re almost to the end of the tunnel, and I know we’re all excited to get there.”
But he also said that “those who aren’t yet vaccinated need to be very careful as cases are rising by wearing masks and avoiding socializing with others.”
His messaging and actions are in conflict: He’s continued to gradually relax restrictions and was downright giddy over the prospect of a packed Coors Field in a couple months for the MLB All-Star Game.
But COVID cases are rising in the state, with infections at late January levels and new outbreaks reported in assisted living facilities, showing that the most vulnerable among us are still not entirely protected.
More Colorado political news
- Colorado’s $34 billion state budget for 2021-22 took a big step Thursday morning.
- People charged with domestic violence could lose their guns under proposed Colorado law.
- Colorado looks to legalize human composting — yes, your dead body could become garden soil.
- Certain mass shootings prompt change. Others don’t.
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus, which U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse is a member of, announced Tuesday that it is planning a vaccination week. During that time, Black members of Congress will return to their districts and urge Black constituents to go to vaccination sites, similar to Souls to the Polls, the get-out-the-vote initiative that is popular within Black faith communities.
In Colorado, Black people account for 4% of the population and have received 2.5% of the vaccines. That’s a higher rate than Latinos (22% of the population but 8% of the vaccinated population) and lower rate than whites (68% of the population, 71% of vaccines).
“Inequities in testing and treatment have been a concern since the start of the pandemic,” Neguse said. “As vaccine rollouts continue in earnest across our country, reaching communities of color, rural residents and other hard to reach communities is essential.”
Dates have not yet been chosen by the CBC, which will partner with the NAACP and Urban League. During a news conference at the White House, the Black Caucus was adamant that access and transportation to vaccines and information about them are far greater barriers than hesitancy. The CBC pushed back on suggestions that famous and heinous abuses against Black people by the U.S. government are a leading cause of low vaccination rates.
“Now, are there some people who remember where you’re going with the Tuskegee experiment or Henrietta Lacks?” Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat who chairs the CBC, told a reporter. “All of us here remember that. But guess what? All of us here are vaccinated.”
More federal politics news
- Neguse and Rep. Ken Buck have teamed up to turn a former Japanese American internment camp in Colorado into a national historic site.
- Colorado’s congressional delegation is in agreement on ending the war in Afghanistan.
- The Biden administration is vetting former Colorado U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar to serve as U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Axios reports.
Denver’s outreach
So far, about 40% of Denver’s population has received at least one shot.
“I think the easy work is done, believe it or not,” said Cali Zimmerman, an emergency management specialist. That’s because the people who wanted to be vaccinated “fought to get it.”
But Denver’s goal of 75-80% vaccination won’t happen until sometime in early 2022, she estimated.
Of those who have received at least one shot, 72% are white, 13.3% are Latino, 6.5% are Black and 3.5% are Asian, Zimmerman said. It’s disproportionate to Denver’s population: 54.8% white, 29.3% Latino, 8.5% Black and 3.6% Asian.
City officials will keep trying community vaccination sites for residents that often have no internet access or transportation, or face other hurdles to getting in line for a vaccine.
The suburbs are a mixed bag
Broomfield, Boulder and Jefferson counties lead the way with vaccinations in the Denver metro, with more than 70,000 per 100,000 people having gotten at least one dose, according to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. And Douglas County is closer to 60,000 per 100,000 population.
Two of the three counties under the Tri-County Health Department’s auspices are trailing the rest — Arapahoe County (nearly 54,000 per 100,000) and Adams County (nearly 47,000 per 100,000).
Weld County to the north scores just above Adams County at 51,261 per 100,000 population — second to last among metro area counties in vaccination rate.
Tri-County spokeswoman Becky O’Guin said her area received disproportionately fewer doses per capita than other Colorado counties in the early weeks of vaccine distribution. And communities of color, which are more prominent in Arapahoe and Adams counties, have been more difficult to connect with because of language barriers.
She noted the department recently held a town hall in seven different languages and has been running advertisements on Spanish-language radio stations about how and where to get vaccinated.
“We would like to see all the vaccination numbers improve immensely over the coming weeks,” she said.
More Denver and suburban political news
- While Denver’s population continues to grow, its water supply doesn’t. Denver Water officials say the best way to ensure their 1.5 million customers have enough is to expand the Gross Reservoir.
- Denver landlords would be required to pay for long-term licenses for each property under a new proposal from City Council President Stacie Gilmore. It would be the largest expansion of licensing in the city’s history.
- Looking for 59 acres of federal land? Try Lakewood.
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