In a rare rebuke, Colorado health officials rejected a health care provider’s request to administer vaccines because the company had already begun booking appointments.

The state Department of Public Health and Environment rejected the request by Vitae Care, a Denver-based home health company. In an email, a spokeswoman for the state said the company “had been scheduling appointments without having been approved for the program or received vaccine.” The state issued the denial on March 8.

“Providers are not authorized to begin scheduling appointments until they have applied to participate in and have been approved for the program,” she wrote. “Failure to abide by these requirements can result in the denial of an application, or termination of an enrolled provider.”

Vitae Care did not respond to a message sent via its website Wednesday. Reached by phone, a representative for the company declined to comment.

Hundreds of providers statewide have been approved to administer the vaccine, according to the health department’s website. None had been rejected before Vitae Care, the spokeswoman said.

State officials and Gov. Jared Polis have previously warned that providers who don’t follow the state’s vaccine rules face consequences. But other than Vitae Care, the state has yet to take action against any other providers. 

No formal warnings have been issued to enrolled providers, the spokeswoman said, and the state has “only sent broad guidance, and we’ve provided coaching on how to comply with the state’s phasing in our regular and frequent conversations with providers.”

Coloradans who have complaints about providers with regards to vaccines can file a grievance on the health department’s website.