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Less than 5 Percent of Hispanics Have Been Vaccinated

Less than 5 Percent of Hispanics Menos de 5 por ciento de los hispanos se ha vacunado

COLORADO AUTHORITIES SECURE

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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All people in Colorado will be able to register online to receive the free COVID-19 vaccine, even those without legal presence in the country, although each group will have to wait their turn depending on their age or occupation, said Jared Polis, governor of Colorado. Polis indicated that it was necessary to “break down the barriers” that prevented the “equitable distribution” of the vaccine in Colorado.

Polis stressed that from now on “everyone will have access to the vaccine” within the framework of a “rapid and equitable distribution” focused on “saving lives” and “ending the crisis caused by the pandemic.” Among the announced measures are the distribution of the vaccine in clinics and community centers, as well as in churches and neighborhood pharmacies, and not only in large hospitals as before.

The vaccination plan in Colorado includes vaccinating 70 percent of those aged 70 and older during February and expanding immunization to teachers and other essential workers beginning in March. In addition, efforts will be redoubled to reach the “reluctant communities” to be vaccinated through a multilingual educational campaign. To facilitate access to vaccination centers, carriers might offer free service to those who need it.

Few Hispanics Vaccinated

During the first month of vaccination, white people have been inoculated three times more than minority groups. 67.85 percent of those vaccinated were white. This group represents 67.76 percent of the total general population. Meanwhile, Latinos represent 4.32 percent of total vaccinations. This figure is well below the number of Hispanics in the general population, which is 21.69 percent.

In Denver, with 705,000 residents, the Hispanic neighborhoods in the west and northeast were the areas with the least vaccinations, despite 46 percent of active local coronavirus cases there. In total, fewer than 40,000 people were vaccinated in Denver. According to Polis, as of Friday, January 22, 6 percent of the 5.7 million people in Colorado had been vaccinated.