EL PASO COUNTY — The team helping oversee COVID-19 vaccine distribution in El Paso County suspected and now confirms many Coloradans over the age of 70 either do not have or are not comfortable with on-line systems. It has motivated a push for health providers to add a phone option. "Many of our seniors may not be that real comfortable or savvy or even have the IT accessibility to go onto our website," said Peak Vista Health Clinic’s, Medical Director, Dr. Lisa Ramey. Peak Vista has both phone and online registration options. Other health providers in the county are working to add dedicated lines.
Many who want the vaccine also wonder why they are put on a wait list rather than given an appointment. "That's the most difficult thing right now is to continually say, hey, we need you to be patient because there's not a lot of vaccine," said El Paso County Public Health, Emergency Response Manager, Lisa Powell. So far, weekly shipment quantities are widely different. If a large number of people have appointments and a small shipment shows up, a lot of rescheduling would have to happen. For now, calling people on the wait list based on shipment quantities keeps providers and patients from wasting time.
Vaccine production is expected to eventually pick-up momentum. When that happens and shipments become more consistent, the process will evolve more to accommodate the increasing number of people getting immunizations.
