GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. – Dec. 14, 2020 – Today, Colorado hospitals and health systems are receiving their first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which received its Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration late last week. Colorado will receive 46,800 doses of the vaccine, which have been designated for health care workers and long-term care workers and residents.

Each hospital that will receive an initial batch of vaccine has identified the first tier of employees that will be offered the vaccine, focusing on those employees who have direct contact with COVID-19 patients for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. At this time, the vaccine is voluntary for health care workers, and hospitals will be moving quickly to utilize all doses they are allocated.

Hospitals that don’t receive a vaccine distribution from this shipment have been designated to receive an allocation of the next wave of vaccine, either this Pfizer vaccine or the Moderna vaccine, which is anticipated to receive authorization from the FDA later this week.

Hospitals have been preparing for this for the last several weeks, working through a number of questions and considerations like storage, tiering staff, identifying the vaccine administration site and internal and external communication. As part of this, hospitals have also been developing a plan for administration to tier 1 staff that includes return to work considerations to minimize the impact on staffing levels in critical care and COVID-specific units.

The vaccine is not available to the public at this time, and Colorado Hospital Association encourages community members to visit www.covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine for up-to-date information on the state’s plan to make COVID-19 vaccines broadly available for Coloradans over the next several months.

Fortunately, Colorado is currently seeing a small decrease in hospitalizations and a slowing in the rate of cases because Coloradans have acted quickly to slow the spread. To help protect vulnerable Coloradans, those actions must continue for the weeks ahead. At this time, the most important action Coloradans can take is to stay home whenever possible and wear a mask and socially distance when they can’t.

About Colorado Hospital Association

Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) is the leading voice of Colorado’s hospital and health system community. Representing more than 100 member hospitals and health systems throughout the state, CHA serves as a trusted, credible and reliable resource on health issues, hospital data and trends for its members, media, policymakers and the general public. Through CHA, Colorado’s hospitals and health systems work together in their shared commitment to improve health and health care in Colorado.

# # #