Metro Coalition Calls for Equitable Vaccine Distribution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 22, 2021

As vaccine distribution ramps up throughout the region, the Metro Denver Partnership for Health (MDPH) calls for prioritizing equity at all levels of the distribution process and urges federal and state elected officials to support these efforts. 

Led by the six local public health agencies serving the seven-county Denver metro area, MDPH is a collective effort between public health and health systems partners to improve health for more than three million Coloradans.

Across the Denver metro area, segments of the population have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and the economic impacts of the pandemic response. Coloradans who are Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other communities of color, those with lower incomes, and individuals who lack documentation are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 due to living conditions, work circumstances, and limited access to care. Historic, systemic racism and discrimination have also generated mistrust in the medical system and vaccines, and current distribution methods may limit accessibility. As a result, thousands of the region’s most underserved residents may be going without the vaccine.

As vaccine rollout begins for the general public in the Denver Metro area, particularly for those residents 70+ years, health departments have identified some early indications of inequities in vaccine uptake. For example, in Denver County, one of the neighborhoods with the highest rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations (Valverde) has a vaccine initiation rate for residents 70+ of 40.5 per 1,000, compared with 273.6 per 1,000 of residents 70+ in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood, which has one of the lowest rates of hospitalization. As another example, immunization rates among 70+ year olds vary by median household income by ZIP codes across the Tri-County Health Department area (Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas Counties). Average rates are 16% in the five ZIP codes with the highest median household incomes compared to 7% in ZIP codes with the five lowest median household incomes.

“COVID-19 has highlighted and magnified health disparities and inequities in our region,” said John M. Douglas, Jr., MD, Executive Director of Tri-County Health Department and MDPH co-chair. “We will work proactively, intentionally, and collaboratively in the coming months to set a different course for the next phase of this pandemic.”

MDPH is committed to proactive planning for equity in the region’s vaccine distribution policies and plans.

This commitment includes the following strategies and activities:

  • Using data to make decisions. Community data including age, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and health status at the census tract level will help identify priority communities for proactive vaccination efforts, and vaccination data can identify needed changes in strategy to fill gaps.
  • Expanding vaccination sites and vaccine availability in under-vaccinated neighborhoods and populations, working in collaboration with local providers and community leaders to ensure processes at these sites are culturally appropriate and are responsive to community needs and preferences.
  • Tailoring communications to reach historically underserved populations with accurate information that is delivered by trusted leadership and voices within these communities.
  • Being transparent with the public about historic and existing inequities, activities underway to address them, and progress made on vaccination efforts.
  • Prioritizing funding to support vaccine equity, including for community partners and leaders.

“We can make significant progress in the region but will not be successful without strong federal and state leadership,” said Margaret Huffman, RN, Director of Community Health Services at Jefferson County Public Health. “We need our elected officials to provide adequate resources for these efforts and provide clear and consistent communication about vaccine availability and the importance of equity in vaccine distribution so that we may plan accordingly and keep our communities informed.”

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is taking steps to support equity, including reserving a portion of vaccine supply for these efforts and instructing providers on how to reduce barriers to acceptance such as unnecessary identification requirements. MDPH applauds these efforts and looks forward to working with CDPHE to share its findings and to ensure these allocations are addressing areas of greatest need.

MDPH is committed to breaking the historic cycle of dictating information and action without first engaging in robust and authentic community involvement. Community members must be included as equal partners in vaccine planning and distribution efforts.

“Our organization is pleased to be collaborating with MDPH,” said Fernando Pineda-Reyes, Chief Executive Officer of CREA Results, an innovative, asset-driven social enterprise created by Latinx immigrants and Promotores de Salud (Community Health Workers) to generate social value for the community. “Trust must be earned and reinforced through the types of strategies and activities to which MDPH is committed, especially authentic collaboration with communities and willingness to not proceed with business as usual based on this collaboration.”

This release is endorsed by the following MDPH partners:

  • Broomfield Public Health Department
  • Boulder County Public Health
  • Colorado Community Health Alliance
  • Denver Department of Public Health & Environment
  • Denver Health and Hospital Authority
  • Jefferson County Public Health
  • Tri-County Health Department

MDPH is led by six public health agencies serving the seven-county Denver metro area: Boulder County Public Health, Broomfield Public Health Department, Denver Department of Public Health & Environment, Denver Public Health, Jefferson County Public Health, and Tri-County Health Department, serving Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas Counties. MDPH’s work impacts nearly 3 million Coloradans — 60% of the state’s population — who live in this region. MDPH is supported and staffed by the Colorado Health Institute (CHI).

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Contact for the Colorado Health Institute: Kristi Arellano, Managing Director of Marketing and Communications | arellanok@coloradohealthinstitute.org | 720.382.7080