Upper Pine River Fire Protection District vaccinated about 120 people Saturday, its first day as a COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
The district, which covers 256 square miles in eastern La Plata County, including the town of Bayfield, recently completed the application and training process required by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to become a clinic. Demand for vaccines is high as Colorado moves through its phrased distribution plan.
“We were off and running,” said Bruce Evans, Upper Pine fire chief, in a news release Sunday. “We vaccinated over 100 people in over 12 hours including the 80-year-old former president of the American Medical Association and a World War II veteran.”
Colorado is in its first phase of distributing doses of the COVID-19 vaccines developed by pharmaceutical companies, Moderna and Pfizer. In clinical trials, the vaccines were shown to be around 95% effective.
Local entities are vaccinating people in phases 1A and 1B of the state’s distribution plan. Those include: people with daily exposure to COVID-19; long-term care facility residents and staff; Coloradans age 70 or older; moderate-risk health care workers; first responders and front-line essential workers.
About 187,000 Coloradans had received one dose of the vaccine, and about 35,000 received both doses as of Monday, according to CDPHE.
“The nurses and doctors treating COVID patients need help. We need to do everything possible to keep the hospital system working,” Evans said.
The Upper Pine vaccination clinic is open only to members of the public who live in the 81122 ZIP code and who are 70 years or older.
Upper Pine also vaccinated members from the U.S. Forest Service aviation team and hot shot crews.
“In April when fire season starts, we do not want any aerial firefighting resources grounded with COVID,” Evans said in the news release. “It is imperative that these crews get their second shot sequence and up to the 94% immunity before things start burning.”
Those receiving the COVID-19 vaccine maintained 6-foot social distancing and were monitored for side effects or any allergic reactions.
A separate paramedic crew was on standby with advanced life support equipment in case of anaphylaxis. (No adverse reactions were reported, the district said.)
“We can do this safely and efficiently,” Evans said. “We treat anaphylaxis and allergic reactions every day in this country in the 911 system.”
So far, the response has been overwhelming, the district said in a Facebook post last week. The district shared instructions for what to do, and to avoid doing, as it works to meet demand for the vaccine.
Appointments are required. No walk-up appointments are available. Appointments can be scheduled by emailing vaccine@upperpineFPD.org.
Because it is a two-part vaccine, people must be available for the second dose within the required time frame.
“If you do not meet these criteria, please do not send in an email,” the district said in a Facebook post. “It is creating more work for our appointment coordinator and slowing the process of setting up appointments. Once the new phases are announced, we will open up the scheduling to the next group.”
The district also reminded people to avoid sharing personal information or attempting to schedule appointments through Facebook or Facebook messenger.
There is a waiting list for future vaccine appointment slots. People who have already emailed the district to set up an appointment do not need to send follow-up emails unless they need to update their information. The appointment coordinator will contact residents in the 81122 ZIP code as slots become available.
“It is the local fire and EMS (emergency medical service) agencies that know our neighborhoods,” Evans said. “We know the diabetics, the people with heart conditions, the medically underserved, seniors and the handicapped, so who better to take the vaccine the ‘last mile.’”
smullane@durangoherald.com
