Vaccine delivery delayed in Colorado as winter storms sweep across U.S.

DENVER — From New Hampshire to Texas, winter storms across the country over the last few days have impacted the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For example, several cities in Texas canceled vaccination appointments as the state works to restore power to roughly 4 million residents. Even Colorado’s recent subzero temperatures forced the state to close dozens of its COVID-19 testing sites.

Now, the cold weather is affecting Coloradans access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CPDHE) announced February 16 that storms affecting a vaccine distribution hub in Tennessee have delayed shipments to several states, including Colorado.

“The delay impacts Colorado’s allocation of 133,000 vaccines that were expected to arrive today through Thursday,” according to the news release from CDPHE.

CDPHE said it is working with health care providers and public health agencies across the state to “make adjustments” to ensure that vaccination appointments do not have to be canceled.

“In anticipation of the holiday weekend, Colorado requested and received doses Friday that were originally scheduled for this week,” officials with CDPHE wrote. “This decision helps us have enough on hand to work with providers to move doses around to prevent cancelations.”

It is unknown at this time when the shipment intended for Thursday, February 18 is now expected to arrive. We will update this story as we learn more.

To date, over 300,000 Coloradans have been fully vaccinated (i.e., given two doses of the vaccine). More data are available here.

To learn more about where to sign up for a vaccine, click here.