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San Juan based in public health officials
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say they’ve administered
the first COVID vaccinations
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to nearly all frontline healthcare workers
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in La Plata and Archuleta Counties
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but limited supplies are
hindering progress on vaccinating
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those next in line.
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You’re watching the local
news network brought to you
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by Krieger’s ACE hardware in Durango.
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I’m Wendy Graham Settle.
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The number of confirmed
COVID-19 cases continues to rise
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in La Plata and Archuleta county,
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with nearly 200 cases reported
the second week of January,
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in what public health officials
say is a post holiday spike,
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from Christmas gatherings
and new year’s eve parties.
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So far, La Plata County
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has had a total of nearly
2,600 confirmed cases
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and Archuleta County 560 cases
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since the pandemic hit Colorado
on March 4th last year.
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That’s the bad news.
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The good news is that vaccinations
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against the virus are underway,
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although supplies are limited.
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Currently we are concluding phase 1A
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in Southwest Colorado,
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which is our high risk healthcare workers.
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Phase 1A also includes our
long-term care facilities.
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All of the long-term
care facilities and staff
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in Southwest Colorado have
received their first dose
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and we’re just waiting
on the second doses.
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So, we’re substantially
complete with phase 1A.
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We’ve made a lot of
progress into phase 1B,
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especially the groups that were
originally part of phase 1B,
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our moderate risk health care workers
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and our first responders.
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Just this week, I think
this week in La Plata County
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and last week in Archuleta County,
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we had the first doses for
members of the general public
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aged 70 and older.
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That is a very, very large category.
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It’s thousands of people
in Southwest Colorado
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so it is going to take
some time to complete.
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The good news is we have new providers
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getting enrolled to
give shots all the time,
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which means there are more
appointments available,
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more places people can go.
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There’s also discussions around
large vaccination clinics.
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The hospitals are getting more doses
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to vaccinate members of the public.
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It’s a really exciting time.
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There is a lot to it though
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and it is a very, very
large group of people.
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Vaccine availability
continues to be limited
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by the number of supplies
that we get from Colorado,
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the number of supplies Colorado gets
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from the federal government
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and of course,
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what the federal government
gets from the manufacturers.
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According to the Colorado Department
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of Public Health and Environment,
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Colorado receives only
70,000 vaccines a week
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for the state’s 5.8 million residents.
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The state health department
also noted that fewer than 10%
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of La Plata county’s 10,000 residents,
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ages 65 years and older, have
received their first vaccines.
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San Juan based in public health
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and other health clinics and organizations
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are now vaccinating
individuals in phase 1B.
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That includes moderate
risk healthcare workers,
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first responders and
residents age 70 and older.
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Frontline essential workers
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and essential state government officials
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will be eligible for
vaccines beginning March 1st.
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Phase two vaccinations
will be administered
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later this spring to residents
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between the ages of 60 and 69,
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higher risk residents
with health complications
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ages 16 to 59,
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essential workers or
local government officials
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not covered in phase 1B
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and residents who received a placebo
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during the vaccination testing period.
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All other residents will
receive vaccines this summer.
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You can sign up for email notifications
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to learn when vaccinations are available
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for your eligibility group
at sjbpublichealth.org.
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Thanks for watching this edition
of the Local News Network.
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I’m Wendy Graham Settle.
