Mesa County Commissioners Unhappy With State Vaccination Process

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Mesa County Commissioners are not happy with the way the state of Colorado has been handling the vaccination process and have sent a letter to the governor expressing their concerns.

In the letter sent to Governor Jared Polis, the commissioners said "Vaccine management by Colorado State officials has become unnecessarily complicated and confusing, creating a burden on our local health care system."

The letter went on to list a number of issues the county seems to be facing.

•  Local partners not being aware of how much vaccine the county is receiving for the week until Thursday.
• Having multiple points of distribution too early in the process resulting in the vaccine not getting to the priority groups for which it was intended.
• Local pharmacies receiving the vaccine, and some not wanting to work with local officials to vaccinate the priority groups.
• Decisions by the state are based on front range experiences, which could be much different in western Colorado.

The bottom line is the Mesa County Commissioners want local public health agencies to have more control over the process with less intrusion from the state government. The letter states Throughout the 10-month COVID-19 response, "the State has been reluctant to allow local control."

Exactly how Governor Polis will respond to the letter remains to be seen and what action will be taken. Clearly, our local officials are trying to be proactive in this process and make it as efficient and as effective as possible for county residents. Hopefully, the request from Mesa County doesn't fall on deaf ears and the vaccination process can be conducted in the most efficient manner.

Over the past several months the county has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to effectively manage the crisis, oftentimes receiving variances from standard state protocols. We'll just have to wait and see what kind of response is given to the commissioners' concerns.