Adams County is among the worst counties at administering vaccines by one state metric, a trend that officials hope to reverse with uptake-minded pushes in the coming weeks.

Among other vaccine distributions metrics, the state tracks how many vaccines counties have doled out per 100,000 county residents. Adams has distributed roughly 26,650 doses, which is the sixth-worst tally of any Colorado county; the lower five are all more rural parts of the state.

The Tri-County Health Department, which oversees Adams, is “looking into this every day and talking with the state health department on, ‘How do we address this?'” said Karen Miller, the agency’s immunization nurse manager.

The situation in Adams is muddied by other vaccine metrics, though. In terms of raw numbers of vaccines distributed and administered, Adams ranks near the top. It’s doled out nearly 138,000 doses, the fifth-highest total. It’s the second-highest at distributing doses, as well, behind only Denver.

The dueling stats are a function of Adams County’s population, Miller said, which is among the highest in the state. But the low per-100,000 administration rate is also exacerbated by the high concentration of health care systems and hospitals within the county, she said.

“The number of doses going to the large health systems in Adams County is very high,” she said, which explains Adams’ high distribution rate. “Yet those health systems are serving the entire metro area. So though Adams County doses distributed looks like a lot, we have data that suggests that only 50% of those doses given by large provider … are actually going to Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas county residents.”

That’s not necessarily an issue, Miller said, because the state has emphasized the wide availability of doses to everyone eligible, availability that isn’t based on where a resident lives. 

Other issues include technological barriers, which have been a problem statewide from early on in the vaccine distribution process. Not only is the process to sign up for vaccines somewhat difficult, but many Adams County residents are essential workers who are paid hourly on a shift-based system, “and it might be hard for them to take time off of work,” Miller said.

Another obstacle is hesitancy, particularly among minority groups who make up a significant portion of Adams’ population, she said. 

There are solutions that the county is exploring in an attempt to drive its numbers up. For one, Miller touted the state’s plan to set aside 15% of its weekly vaccine shipments for underserved and minority populations. Tri-County, like other public health agencies, is hoping to partner with community-based organizations to host community-level vaccine clinics. Those events will be less widely advertised to ensure that locals will be able to get their jabs.

Miller said the health department knows technology has been a barrier because the county has heard about it repeatedly at vaccine town halls it’s hosted. To address that confusion, the county has stood up a call center where “agents … can scheduled vaccine appointments for individuals,” she said. They’ll tick through various health systems and other providers.

The county’s also looking at improving transportation options, which have been another barrier for some who can’t get to the mass vaccination sites hosted elsewhere in the metro. Health officials in Adams County are also looking at weekend clinics so that workers who can’t get time off have the ability to get inoculated over the weekend. 

“We have continued to look at data to just better understand (hesitancy and equity) and really look at our community-based organizations and our trusted community leaders to help us disseminate vaccine messaging,” she said, “so communities are receiving messaging from trusted messengers.”

The task will become more complicated imminently: On Friday, as many as 2.5 million people across the state will become eligible for the vaccine. That’ll be further increased in mid-April, when every Coloradan will be added into the eligibility pool.

Miller said there may be “kind of wait-and-see mode” among some residents, which will hopefully be assuaged as more people are inoculated and the safety of the vaccine is further displayed.