As Colorado moves forward with Phases 1A and 1B of COVID-19 vaccinations, Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) reported that 54 percent of their staff have been fully vaccinated so far, and an additional 10 percent have received their first dose. Around 215 of the 616 staff have not yet been vaccinated.
A December 2020 survey of the HRRMC staff found that 58.38 percent of responders were in favor of receiving the vaccine once the hospital received its allocation of doses. Out of the 382 responses, 23.82 percent said they were not in favor of the vaccine.
HRRMC medical personnel worked to give out more COV ID vaccination shots at the hospital Friday morning. Photo by Dan Smith.
After the hospital’s Board of Directors Meeting on Tuesday, January 26, HRRMC spokesperson Allison Gergley said more staff have been and will be getting vaccinated than originally seen in the December survey. “More employees intend to get their first dose this week, which will slightly increase numbers,” she said.
Vaccinations in the county have also gone on at a steady pace. As of Tuesday, January 19, HRRMC has conducted nine vaccine clinics for HRRMC employees, EMS, Public Health, school nurses, the coroner, REACH Air, the Sheriff’s department and jail, members of the HRRMC Auxiliary, dialysis patients, and other high-risk patients.
As of Jan. 19, HRRMC has fully vaccinated 384 county residents, and 101 have received their first dose. According to Gergley, HRRMC will set up time slots for phases 1A and 1B once they know how many doses they will receive next from the state.
Phase 1A covers the highest-risk healthcare workers and individuals, including those who have direct contact with COVID-19 patients for 15 minutes or more in a 24-hour period and long-term care facility staff and residents. Phase 1B includes those aged 70+, moderate-risk health care workers, first responders, frontline essential workers, and essential officials in state government. Governor Jared Polis has also opened Phase 1B vaccination to those age 65+ and kindergarten through 12th-grade educators. 
Phase 2, which is expected to begin in the spring, will cover higher-risk individuals and other essential workers, such as people age 60-69, people age 16-59 with major pre existing conditions or who are immunocompromised, essential workers in local government, and those who received a placebo during COVID-19 vaccine trials. Phase 3, set to begin in the summer, includes the general public aged 16-59.
According to Colorado’s COVID-19 vaccine website, the vaccine will be free. Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurances are required to cover the cost of the vaccine, and uninsured Coloradans will have access to free vaccines. Vaccine providers may not turn away an individual based on their ability to pay or their medical coverage status.
As of January 27, 109,208 Colorado residents have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 410,050 have received their first dose. Of those vaccinated, 268,398 received the Moderna vaccine and 251,084 received the Pfizer vaccine. The state is currently in phases 1A and 1B, with 631 total vaccine providers statewide.
Featured image: Chaffee County Public Health administering vaccines at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds.
“Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurances are required to cover the cost of the vaccine…”
We didn’t give any insurance information before or after receiving our first shot and fees were not discussed at all.
This is incorrect. There is no cost to anyone for the COVID-19 vaccine. this has been reinforced multiple times by the United States government. Every American resident can and should receive this vaccine