Gov. Jared Polis said on Tuesday that massive COVID vaccine sites in Denver, Pueblo and Larimer County will now offer COVID-19 prevention injections without an appointment.
“We are really doubling down on our call for all Coloradans to get vaccinated,” Polis said. “It’s easier than ever before. It is free. It’s fast. It’s easy.”
The move comes at another important moment in the state’s pandemic response. The state is in the middle of a fourth wave of business. Polis announced that 1,963 Colorado dances had tested positive in the past day and that 553 people have now been hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s up 43 in one day, the highest number since the end of January.
“This is really a race against time,” Polis said, adding that about a third of adults in the state are now fully vaccinated and just over half of adults have received a first shot. He said more than 65 percent of people over 60 are fully vaccinated, which means fewer people in that age group get so sick they need to be hospitalized.
But Polis noted, “We have more and more people in the hospital between the ages of 30 and 40 and 50 and 20.”
On the week of Jan. 10, people ages 20 to 59 made up 38 percent of new COVID-19 hospital admissions. By the week of April 11, that rate had grown to 59 percent as older age groups embraced vaccines, which only recently became available for Coloradans 16 to 50.
The state epidemiologist released new information on the percentage of people who tested positive for COVID-19 after vaccination in Colorado. Dr. Rachel Herlihy said that number is very small.
The state investigated data on “breakthrough cases” from a week in early April. Of the nearly a million fully vaccinated people, only 140 people later tested positive for the virus – that’s much less than one percent: 0.014 percent. Herlihy showed a slide to reporters and noted that it amounts to one in seven thousand.
“Vaccination will be our ticket out of this pandemic,” said Herlihy.
Herlihy said those who have been fully vaccinated are nearly 95 percent less likely to get a positive test than those who have not been vaccinated, which is in line with national studies.
The governor stressed the importance of vaccinating younger Coloradans.
“Now it’s your turn. We’ve got plenty for you. Show up and get it. You’re not just protecting yourself, because yes, this virus can be perfectly healthy people in their twenties or thirties who are healthy one day and a week. later on a ventilator, knock down, “Polis said.” That’s why it’s important that everyone 16 and older gets vaccinated. And the sooner we can do that, the sooner we can get past this pandemic in Colorado history. “
Here you can walk in without an appointment to take your COVID admission:
Denver: Ball Arena Parking spot
- 1000 Chopper Cir, Denver
- Drive-thru site
- Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Available vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna
- More information
Larimer County: The Ranch
- 5280 Arena Circle, Loveland
- Drive-thru site
- Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm
- Available vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna
- More information
Pueblo County: Colorado State Fairgrounds
- 1001 Beulah Ave, Pueblo
- Drive-thru site
- 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Friday to Monday
- Available vaccines: Pfizer
- More information
The state has two other major community vaccination sites: one in Mesa County, at the Grand Junction Convention Center, and one at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Adam’s County. An appointment may be required at these locations.