See the 35 Colorado Counties Less Than 50 Percent Fully Vaccinated

On June 9, Governor Jared Polis celebrated the fact that twelve Colorado counties had immunized more than 70 percent of eligible residents against COVID-19 with at least one dose of vaccine. But nearly three weeks later, not a single additional county in the state has reached this threshold. And the statistics concerning fully immunized Coloradans — those who've received two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna medication or one shot of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson version — are even more disappointing.

Only seven counties in the state can count 70 percent of their residents as fully vaccinated. And in 35 of the state's 64 counties, fewer than 50 percent of eligible Coloradans are fully immunized. The largest in this group is El Paso County, with a total population of 720,403 by 2019 figures. But arguably the most concerning is Moffat County in northwest Colorado, where only 34.5 percent of the residents are fully immunized — and the county remains at Level Red on the state's COVID-19 dial dashboard. That makes Moffat the hottest spot for the novel coronavirus in the state.

Given these stats, it's no surprise that the county-level page of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's vaccine data dashboard defaults to the one-dose numbers: They simply look better than those for full immunization.

The twelve counties that rank over 70 percent for one-dose inoculations are paced by San Juan, at 92.4 percent, followed by San Miguel, Summit, Pitkin, Broomfield, Eagle, Mineral, Boulder, Routt, Denver, Gunnison and Jefferson (at 71.2 percent). But apply the full-immunization mark and San Juan's total dips to 83.4 percent, and only Mineral, Summit, Pitkin, Broomfield, Eagle and Boulder (at 71.4 percent) exceed 70 percent. Denver is at 73 percent for one dose, 66.7 percent for full immunization.

Of the 35 counties with fewer than 50 percent of residents fully immunized, seventeen are at Level Green, the lowest notch on the dial dashboard, including the four with the poorest full-immunization performances: Washington (27.4 percent), Cheyenne (26.3 percent), Bent (24.9 percent) and Crowley (17.5 percent).  The other eighteen counties are at higher levels on the dial — among them Mesa, the worst county for the Delta variant in Colorado, with 308 confirmed cases currently.

Here are the 35 Colorado counties with under 50 percent rates, ranked by descending full-immunization percentages and supplemented by their dial levels as of today, June 29.

Alamosa — 49.7 percent
Level Yellow: 92.7 cases per 100,000

Weld — 49.4 percent
Level Blue: 74.1 cases per 100,000

Phillips — 48 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Huerfano — 48 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Teller — 47.7 percent
Level Yellow: 106.5 cases per 100,000

Pueblo — 47.2 percent
Level Blue: 57.1 cases per 100,000

Montezuma — 46.1 percent
Level Yellow: 137.6 cases per 100,000

El Paso — 45.9 percent
Level Yellow: 122.4 cases per 100,000

Sedgwick — 45.1 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Park — 43.8 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Conejos — 41.7 percent
Level Yellow: 134.8 cases per 100,000

Custer — 41.7 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Mesa — 41.6 percent
Level Orange: 347.2 cases per 100,000

Elbert — 41.4 percent
Level Blue: 45 cases per 100,000

Otero — 41.3 percent
Level Blue: 43.8 cases per 100,000

Montrose — 41.3 percent
Level Yellow: 128.6 cases per 100,000

Morgan — 40.3 percent
Level Blue: 62,1 cases per 100,000

Delta — 39.5 percent
Level Orange: 250.2 cases per 100,000

Yuma — 38.5 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Saguache — 38 percent
Level Orange: 322.4 cases per 100,000

Jackson — 37.7 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Dolores — 36.1 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Baca — 36 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Prowers — 35.5 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Kiowa — 34.5 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Moffat — 34.5 percent
Level Red: 618.8 cases per 100,000

Fremont — 33.8 percent
Level Blue: 73.5 cases per 100,000

Kit Carson — 33.6 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Rio Blanco — 31.5 percent
Level Orange: 269.5 cases per 100,000

Lincoln — 31.4 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Logan — 30.8 percent
Level Blue: 68.4 cases per 100,000

Washington — 27.4 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Cheyenne — 26.3 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Bent — 24.9 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks

Crowley — 17.5 percent
Level Green: Fewer than 8 cases in the past 2 weeks