January 13, 2021
Dear Colorado Seniors,
Over these last 10 months, Coloradans have been put to the test. This global pandemic has forced us to change nearly every aspect of our lives in order to keep ourselves and each other safe. Many of you haven’t seen your grandchildren and children in months or you’ve had to pause many of your day to day social activities.
With vaccines here in communities across our state, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. It is a priority of my administration that we vaccinate Coloradans that are 70 years or older as quickly as possible because you account for 78% of the deaths in our state. Our goal is to vaccinate 70% of people age 70 and up by February 28. But we know that in addition to feeling excitement, there is some frustration and confusion around the process for how exactly you can get the vaccine.
This is a rapidly evolving situation and we are dependent on federal supply which makes it difficult to plan too far in advance, at times more than a week but we are working diligently and in partnership with providers across the state to ensure that they stand up websites as quickly as possible so everyone can sign up to get an appointment to get the COVID-19 vaccine regardless if they are currently patients or not. We also want to make sure that this process is as equitable as the process from the beginning and that is why 20% of our vaccine doses will be directed to community partners who focus on reaching underrepresented communities to ensure that no one is left behind in this process.
Also, yesterday the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that states expand the COVID-19 vaccine to include 65 year olds or older. We hope to be able to move on to 65 and up within a few weeks.
Colorado will not be making any changes to our vaccine program until we can get concrete details on supply quantities, timelines for receiving that supply and engaging our partners who are on the ground administering the vaccine. While the state is not making any changes today, we are actively planning how we can scale up and expand eligibility in anticipation for receiving more supply of vaccines. We hope to be able to announce updated plans next week once we have more information.
I want to make sure that you have the resources you need to get the vaccine at one of Colorado’s many health care providers.
Please find below how to contact providers:
UCHealth
UCHealth is using My Health Connection, their online patient portal, to communicate with patients. If you do not have an active My Health Connection account or are new to UCHealth, sign up to be placed on a list to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available for your age, according to the state’s plan.
Visit their website, UCHealth.org/covidvaccine, for more information.
Denver Health
They are currently working to contact and make appointments with patients age 70 and over who currently receive care at a Denver Health facility or have received care in the past three years. Invitations are now being sent by MyChart to schedule these vaccinations. Tickets to schedule COVID-19 vaccinations for patients 70 or over are being generated in a phased fashion. For those with MyChart accounts or willing to sign-up for one, this will be a much quicker process for scheduling your vaccination. Instructions to create a MyChart account are at www.denverhealth.org/mychart.
Visit DenverHealth.org/Coronavirus for more information.
Centura Health
If you are a Centura Health patient, you will receive an invitation when it is your time to receive the vaccine through MyCenturaHealth, their patient portal. These invitations will be sent based on the state tiering system, starting with patients age 70 and over. An appointment is required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and walk-ins cannot be accommodated. If you are currently not a patient you can go to www.centura.org/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine-information to get added to their vaccination list.
Banner Health
● Banner Health Center Summit View in Weld County ● Banner Health Center at Lady Moon in Larimer County ● Banner Family Medicine-Brush in Morgan County ● Banner Health Family Care Clinic in Logan County Please take the survey linked above to determine if you are eligible to receive the vaccine. Please schedule your appointment online as the Banner Health System is receiving a high number of requests for appointments.
Kaiser Permanente
For Kaiser Permanente members 70+ (and others in eligible 1A and 1B categories) visit Kaiser Permanente’s vaccine webpage to complete the “COVID-19 vaccine sign up.” Upon providing your information to them, you will be placed on a first-come, first-served wait list for the vaccine based on your eligibility.
Vail Health
Visit Vail Health’s website to make an appointment and see their clinic schedule.
Boulder Community Health
All vaccination notification and scheduling will be done through the MyBCH patient portal. The quickest and most efficient way to schedule a vaccination from Boulder Community Health is to use a MyBCH account. If you already have a MyBCH account, you should check that your personal information is up to date. If you need to set up an account, you can do that at Boulder Community Health’s website. You do not need to be a current BCH patient to establish a MyBCH account. General questions about setting up the account should be sent to this email: MyBCH@bch.org.
HealthONE
At this point, HealthONE hospitals (The Medical Center of Aurora, North Suburban Medical Center, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, Rose Medical Center, Sky Ridge Medical Center, Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital and Swedish Medical Center) only have enough vaccine for their colleagues, physicians and their staff members, and other providers in the community. They are currently providing first and second dose vaccinations to those groups with the limited number of resources they’ve received. HealthONE will soon begin contacting patients age 70 and older. These communications will be consistent with the state of Colorado tiering system and based upon vaccine availability. Because of our limited supply of vaccines, we are asking that individuals wait to be contacted by us rather than come to our facilities looking to be vaccinated without an appointment. Please check HealthONE’s website for updated details.
SCL Health
SCL Health is currently contacting patients age 70 and older who are currently receiving care at a SCL Health facility. Information is being emailed to these patients guiding them to use the MyChart online patient portal to make a vaccination appointment. These invitations are being sent in a phased fashion based on the state tiering system.
Individuals interested in receiving the vaccine should consider creating an SCL Health MyChart account for the fastest, easiest experience. Visit MyChart.SCLHealth.org to create an account and schedule an appointment if you are eligible and one is available or download the SCL Health MyChart app. An appointment is REQUIRED to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a SCL Health facility -- walk-up vaccinations ARE NOT available. If you are 70 and older and would like more information about registering for COVID-19 vaccination at a SCL Health facility, log on to SCL Health’s website or call or call 303-812-2051 for details.
Gunnison County
Gunnison County is scheduling COVID-19 vaccinations for people in phase 1A and seniors age 70 and older. Individuals in these groups can register through their COVID-19 Vaccination Interest Form. Gunnison County will notify people via email, text message, or phone call when the vaccine is available for them.
Salud
Salud is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) operating 13 clinic locations across our state. They focus on low-income, medically underserved populations as well as the migrant and seasonal farmworker population. They are providing vaccines. To sign up go to their website:
www.saludclinic.org/covid-vaccine
As we get new information from providers we will update the tcovid19.colorado.gov/vaccine website. Thanks for your patience as we navigate this process. I want to reiterate that vaccinating you is a priority to my administration and we will continue to work day and night to get this accomplished.
Sincerely,
Jared Polis
Governor