SUMMIT COUNTY – The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), announced that it will allow local public health agencies to begin vaccinations of Phase 1B.2 individuals ages 65 and older, along with Pre-K-12 educators and licensed child care providers starting Monday, Feb. 8. In addition, CDPHE updated it’s Phased vaccine distribution guidance, removing the dotted line, and updating Phases 1B.1 and 1B.2.

Summit County has adjusted its criteria to abide by the newly announced guidance, and will begin opening vaccination appointments to adults 65 and older today. Pre-K-12 educators and licensed child care providers will be eligible to receive vaccine this week and should reach out to their employer for information on scheduling their vaccination appointments. 

“We are so happy to be able to open vaccination to our community members ages 65 and older this week as well as educators,” said Public Health Director Amy Wineland. “We know our community has been waiting for this. Our allocation of vaccine each week will be limited, however, so we ask for patience. We will open additional vaccination appointments each week, so long as we receive vaccine from the State.”

COVID-19 vaccination in Summit County is occurring in phases outlined by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Summit County is currently scheduling Phases 1A, 1B.1, and 1B.2. These groups include health care workers, emergency responders, unlicensed home care providers, individuals ages 65 and older, Pre-K-12 educators and licensed child care providers. Summit County Public Health cannot grant any exceptions to the criteria listed in state guidance on vaccine eligibility or phasing.

More information on the phased COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan is available on the Summit County COVID-19 Vaccination webpage.

Summit County will notify the public when vaccination appointments open via SC Alert. An SC Alert will be sent to provide immediate notification when the online scheduler is opened and available for individuals to make appointments. To subscribe to SC Alert to receive notifications via phone, text, or email, or to manage your account, visit www.SCAlert.org. 

Summit County will be sending out an SC Alert and opening vaccination appointments for this Saturday’s drive-through clinic, at 3:30 p.m. today, for individuals ages 65 and older, on the Summit County webpage for Scheduling COVID-19 Vaccinations: https://www.summitcountyco.gov/1423/Scheduling-Vaccinations.

“Summit County has been a leader in distributing the COVID vaccine through our drive-through clinics and community partnerships,” said Commissioner Elisabeth Lawrence. “This has enabled us to distribute the vaccine quickly and efficiently to our eligible populations each week and has allowed us to move quickly to the next eligible population. Our limitation at the moment is vaccine. We hope that the State will have the ability to give us larger allocations of vaccine going forward so that we can offer more appointments to our community.”

Summit County encourages the public to sign up for SC Alerts to receive the most up-to-date vaccination information. In addition, Summit County will notify the public weekly via Press Release and the following channels when the next round of vaccine appointments will be opened:

Summit County website: www.SummitCountyCO.gov

Summit County Government News Flash (subscribe via text or email to Summit County press releases)

Summit County Facebook page

Summit County Twitter account

Summit County Instagram account

Public Health reminds the community that everyone, including those who receive both doses of vaccine should continue to follow Public Health recommendations for wearing face coverings, washing hands and physical distancing to help slow the spread of the virus in Summit County. More research is needed to determine the length of immunity to the virus and whether individuals who receive the vaccine have the ability to spread the virus to others.

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