Photo of Liz Copan / Studio Copan
Summit County has made considerable progress in recent weeks, reducing the spread of COVID-19 and, with vaccines available for distribution to county residents, there is a sense of optimism that the end of the pandemic is in sight.
Despite optimism, the authorities are still asking community members to be cautious and continue to take the necessary steps to keep themselves and others safe, while the county continues to distribute the vaccine in the coming months.
“With all this great news, we want to alert our community that, of course, we have a long, long, long way to go,” said Summit County Public Health Director Amy Wineland. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is long.”
Wineland joined other county officials at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon to update the public on the progress being made in reducing COVID-19 numbers across the county and to provide new insights into how employees will manage the distribution of vaccines in the future.
Wineland praised residents, visitors and businesses for helping to slow the spread last month, after the peak of case numbers in late November. In the past two weeks, the county’s case rate has been reduced to about 706 new cases per 100,000 Summit County residents, an almost 50% decline from a peak of 1,352 per 100,000 in late November. The positivity rate, which reflects the number of tests with a positive result, also dropped substantially to 5.7%, from a peak of more than 15% in early December.
These metrics are expected to continue to decline as more residents are vaccinated. The county has already distributed nearly 1,000 doses, making the first vaccinations available to health professionals and first aid. On Thursday, December 31, the county will open the distribution of vaccines to Summit County residents aged 70 and over.
Vaccines would initially be offered only to residents 75 and older, but the county has reduced the age restriction to comply with the new Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment guidance announced on Wednesday, December 30 . The adjustment means another 1,500 residents are now eligible for a total of about 3,000 residents across the county. It is not clear how the change will affect the vaccination schedule originally set by the county, as the allocation still largely depends on how many doses the county receives in a given week.
“We don’t have 3,000 vaccines to administer right now,” said Wineland. “We have just over 800. But we need to continue to distribute this to our community. … We know that we are getting vaccines weekly, so this is great news. We do not know how much we will receive next week until the end of the week. So we plan and strategize for the week and change if we need to add more distribution locations … if we can get more, which is what happened this week. We expected only 200, and we ended up receiving three times that amount ”.
The county currently has the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines available – both considered 95% effective – that are being distributed at Safeway pharmacies in Frisco and the City Market in Dillon and Breckenridge. Summit County Public Health is also offering an appointment drive-thru vaccination clinic at the Summit County transit depot in Frisco.
The decision to offer drive-thru distribution points was deliberated by the county to reduce the risk of congregating community members. The drive-thru clinic is also efficient, allowing up to 80 people an hour to be vaccinated, according to Abbie Cobb, part of the Northwest Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response team.
Cobb said Summit County officials practiced the drive-thru system for the first time in 2017, as part of a statewide exercise focused on the distribution of antibiotics.
“It really benefited us, as we had the chance to plan, configure, fill positions and find out what we needed to do,” said Cobb. “So when COVID started, we realized that at some point we would be where we are now with the vaccine and we started having talks in late spring about the best way to do this.”
Vaccinated individuals at the drive-thru clinic will go through four seasons: one to check in, one to fill out paperwork, one to obtain vaccination and a post-vaccination area for authorities to ensure that individuals are safe to leave .
Chief public health nurse Sara Lopez said it is important that even vaccinated community members continue to take every precaution to help protect their neighbors until the majority of the county has been vaccinated and collective immunity has been achieved.
“Although we still have a lot of viruses in the community, it is absolutely vital that we all continue to protect ourselves, wear a mask and practice the six containment commitments until time passes and we know more, and we are able to vaccinate more,” said Lopez.
Wineland said public health officials are shooting 70% to 85% of vaccinated individuals for collective immunity.
Wineland also expressed confidence that existing vaccines and public health measures, taken by community members, will be effective in combating a more contagious coronavirus strain recently discovered in the state.
“It is not uncommon to see this happen,” said Wineland. “It happened with the Spanish flu, which over time became more contagious and less deadly. Scientists are really confident that the vaccine will cover and still be effective against this new strain. But what is really important for people to understand first of all is that we know how to protect ourselves. We need to make sure we continue to follow these six commitments and ensure that we continue to protect our community while continuing to get these vaccines off the shelves and into their arms as soon as possible, so that we can get out of this hole we’ve been here for so long time. “
Community members who have already arranged meetings say they are eager to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 in the community.
“(Thursday), I get my vaccination and I’m very happy to reduce my risk and get on with life as soon as we can,” said Don Wolf, a 77-year-old Silverthorne resident.