COVID In Denver: City Adds Community Vaccination Sites In Several Neighborhoods

DENVER (CBS4)- The City and County of Denver is working with the Colorado Department of Public Health, and other partners, to establish several fixed community vaccination sites around the city. The sites will provide access to vaccines in communities most impacted by COVID-19.

The first site opened at Montbello Recreation Center last week. Another location at Project Angel Heart is already up and running in Denver's Globeville neighborhood. A COVID Check Colorado site at Montbello High School opens soon. Additional community vaccination sites at the Barnum Recreation Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, and Bear Valley Library will open the week of March 7.

Project Angel Heart in Denver's Globeville neighborhood is happy to be home to a community vaccination site.

"After a year that has been so tough, all you see at these vaccine clinics is joy," said Project Angel Heart President and CEO, Owen Ryan. "When people get that first shot, the tears start running."

Project Angel Heart is one of a handful of new locations popping up around the city to get vaccines into underserved communities.

"We vaccinate one day a week, we have 200 people that we're trying to vaccinate each of those days, and we work with the city and a wide array of community partners to identify folks across the city that are in communities in need," said Ryan.

Thanks to the city-wide initiative, Ryan says the location will be a fixture for vaccine equity over the coming months.

"We work with community partners to understand who isn't having access to vaccines, and who hasn't gotten on lists, to make sure folks know that we are right here in the neighborhood," said Ryan. "They can access a trusted partner to get access to vaccines right around the corner from where they live."

Project Angel Heart believes predictable access will improve vaccination rates in neighborhoods that need it most.

"Finally, we have hope," Ryan said.

These fixed, community-specific sites will require eligible residents to register for an appointment. Registration information and instructions will be shared with communities prior to the opening of each site.

LINK: Denver County COVID-19 Information