Colorado hits 70% of adults vaccinated against COVID-19 – FOX 31 Denver

by: Jenny Ivy, Rachel Skytta

DENVER (KDVR) Colorado has reached President Bidens goal of vaccinating 70% of Americans 18 and older by July 4.

According to Gov. Jared Polis, 70.04% of Colorado adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

That means about 3.1 million state residents have been immunized with at least one vaccine dose.

Colorado is ticking up in COVID vaccinations versus the nation as a whole, with 67% of the national adult population receiving a COVID vaccine first dose.

I am excited that our state has reached the goal of 70% of adults with at least their first vaccination by Independence Day. This is an exciting milestone for the people of our state, it is a testament to our resilience and united commitment in the fight against this deadly virus. The vaccine is a safe and effective way to protect ourselves and enjoy the life we love in Colorado, said Polis. Our country has a simple tool to stop the loss in the form of a safe, highly effective, and free vaccine so get your vaccine to safeguard yourself and your family.

Only about a dozen individual counties in Colorado have reached the 70% goal for vaccinations. Counties with low vaccination rates are also seeing higher numbers of the Delta variant.

The Delta variant is scary because its the most infectious version of the virus weve seen and it makes people the sickest, said Dr. Anuj Mehta, a pulmonologist with Denver Health.

Mehta says an increased spread in counties where people are not vaccinated could eventually lead to a divide between communities.

Where you have vaccinated communities doing well, schools open and you have unvaccinated communities with ongoing stresses on their healthcare systems and potentially schools and businesses may have to shut down again, said Mehta.

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Colorado hits 70% of adults vaccinated against COVID-19 - FOX 31 Denver