COVID-19 vaccine in Larimer County: First vaccines arriving Dec. 12

The first round of COVID-19 vaccines is expected in Larimer County on Dec. 12, and a plan for distribution is in the works, the county’s top health official said Tuesday.

“We are excited to get that vaccine out,” said Larimer County Public Health Director Tom Gonzales during the weekly county commissioners meeting. “The vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Gonzales said Tuesday morning that the Pfizer vaccine is expected to come to the county in three rounds, each with different focuses. The first phase of vaccines will be broken down into three focuses: emergency room medical personnel, health-care workers and outpatient health-care workers first; critical workers including emergency responders law-enforcement officers and correctional facility workers second; and finally high-risk people.

The first shipment is expected to come in Dec. 12 and, while not large, will be used primarily on medical workers in hospital emergency rooms, Gonzales said. The second shipment should come in late December, he said.

The second phase is planned to be used on people in congregate housing, such as students in dorms, jail inmates and people experiencing homelessness; and essential workers, including grocery store workers and teachers.

Gonzales said he is working to get teachers into the first round so they can receive the vaccine before January in preparation for the spring semester.

The final phase of vaccinations is planned for the general public, and Gonzales said those supplies will most likely come in the late spring or early summer — around April through June.

Gonzales said at least the first two shipments will be the Pfizer vaccine, and officials will have more information after a meeting later this week, such as whether other vaccination options will be used.

Larimer County has been in the red risk level since last week as case numbers continue to rise. As of Tuesday, the county had recorded more than 10,000 cases since March, with a two-week rate of 834 cases per 100,000 residents and 112 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Gonzales said nine COVID-19 deaths of Larimer County residents were reported the week of Nov. 23-29.

“That is the highest one-week death rate during the pandemic,” Gonzales said, adding that the previous high was five reported deaths in the early stages of the pandemic.

Commissioner Tom Donnelly said that, looking at the community dashboard found at larimer.org/health, the case-by-day and two-week positivity rates appeared to be dipping. He asked Gonzales if this was the community taking warnings seriously, or if a dip in testing sites caused the slight downturn.

Gonzales said that while testing sites were closed Thursday and Friday last week, the graphs do seem to be showing a slight change.

“We are seeing it plateau, maybe bend a little bit,” Gonzales said. “That is good news, (but) it is a little too early to tell.”

Gonzales said health officials are seeing the greatest infection rate coming from the community, especially from private gatherings of more than one household.

“We are encouraging our residents to not mingle with other households, stay home as much as possible, limit their exposure out in the community,” Gonzales said. “Those are some big suggestions.”

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