Decommissioning the Call Center
Gunnison County will be decommissioning the Call Center on 6/29/21. While the 970-641-7660 number will remain active, it will not be staffed with live respondents. After 6/29 if you reach out to the Call Center you will encounter a call tree that will refer you to another County agency or community organization that can address your questions and concerns appropriately.
Vaccination Clinic Transitions
As the number of individuals requiring vaccination on a weekly basis continues to slow, Gunnison County will be adjusting its vaccine delivery process.
The last mass vaccination clinic at the Fred Field Center will be on 6/24/21.
After this time, vaccination will transition to a variety of private and community-based offerings. We encourage those who will need to receive their second shot to reach out to our local pharmacies or utilize the services of the CDPHE travelling vaccination bus. The state vaccination bus will be coming to offer services in Gunnison County on a rotating, every three-week schedule.
Additionally, some private practice and primary care physicians will be offering vaccination in July.
We encourage you to check the updated information found here.
Western Slope Variant Growth
Many communities across the Western Slope are seeing a significant growth in COVID-19 infection, particularly among the unvaccinated. Much of this growth seems to be attributable to transmission of the B.1.617.2 variant, also known as the Delta variant. This variant of the coronavirus was first identified in India.
On 6/16/21, the CDC labeled the Delta variant as a ‘Variant of Concern.’ Variants of concern are viral mutations that show evidence of ‘an increase in transmissibility’ and ‘more severe disease’ amongst other factors.
The Delta variant was first identified in Mesa County and is now being identified in additional Western Slope communities.
With the growth of variants, Mesa County and other communities are seeing troubling increases in hospitalization from COVID-19. Additionally, the San Luis Valley is experiencing an increase in significant illness and death due to COVID-19 amongst the unvaccinated.
We remind everyone that the greatest protection against severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19 is to get vaccinated. Vaccination remains available through City Market, Wal-Mart, Clark’s Market and Gunnison County Public Health. Also, some primary care providers will be offering vaccine to their patients.
CDPHE Vaccine Outreach Campaign
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will be launching a robust campaign to encourage the unvaccinated to receive the vaccine. It’s expected that this campaign will include significant, direct outreach to unvaccinated individuals in a variety of formats including phone calls, direct mail and other outreach.
We want our community to be aware of the upcoming effort from CDPHE.
Vaccination Numbers
Gunnison County continues to make steady progress in vaccination. We now have almost 11,000 residents who have received at least one dose of vaccine.
All individuals who get vaccinated help us boost our community-level protection in the effort to stop COVID-19.
It is possible for Gunnison County to achieve a vaccination rate of 70% for the ENTIRE population. We encourage all who are still considering vaccination to seek accurate information from sources like the CDC or to speak with a primary care physician about their vaccine concerns.
Our total vaccination progress is being updated on Monday evenings and can be found on our dashboard here.
2nd Dose Reminder
We ask that Gunnison County residents pay attention to their date of first dose delivery as this determines the cycle to the second dose. Pfizer is delivered in a three-week sequence and Moderna is delivered in a four-week cycle. When you receive your first dose, please pay attention to when you would need to return for a second dose.
Vaccination Clinic Schedule
We encourage those who have not yet been vaccinated to utilize one of our upcoming walk-in clinics. Also, if you have missed your scheduled second dose, you can come to one of the walk-in clinics with access to Pfizer and Moderna to receive your second dose. Please try to remember your vaccine card and ensure your name and information is recorded on your card.
Our upcoming clinics are as follows:
- 6/17/21 (Thursday) 4:00pm-5:30pm
- Fred Field Center
- Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson
- Fred Field Center
- 6/24/21 (Thursday) 4pm-5:30pm
- Fred Field Center
- Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson will be available
For additional questions or to find the next scheduled clinic, please contact the Call Center at 970-641-7660.
Other Vaccine Sites
Clark’s Market in Crested Butte is now offering vaccination appointments. Contact the pharmacy at 970-349-2652 for more information. Clark’s now offers both Moderna and Pfizer – which means there is another point of access of access in the North Valley for adolescents seeking vaccination.
The Mesa County Mass Vaccination Site is at The Mesa County Convention Center (159 Main Street). The vaccination site is open Monday-Friday, 9am – 4pm. This site no longer requires an appointment. Walk-ins are now accepted at all CPDHE sponsored mass vaccination sites.
City Market continues to provide vaccinations. They have set up a scheduling system that is separate from the Gunnison County Vaccine Interest Form.
Walmart continues to offer vaccinations. Sign up can be found here.
Gunnison is Green
Gunnison County is Green on the Coronameter. This largely removed remaining public health restrictions outside of a limited facial covering requirement.
Masking is no longer required outside of the following settings: Healthcare providers, Schools & Childcare, Public Transportation, Jails/Prisons and Court, and any business or setting requiring facial coverings. Some businesses and entities may wish to continue requiring a facial covering and are within their right to do so and we ask that you respect their policies when patronizing the establishment. Gunnison County continues to encourage the unvaccinated to utilize a facial covering in all public settings.
The Gunnison County Public Health Order will sunset in entirety on 7/1/21.
Virtual Town Halls & Updates
Given the evolving nature of the pandemic and the associated response, we will be adjusting the sequence of our meetings and virtual town halls.
Gunnison County has moved to bi-weekly updates. This means that our next virtual town hall and written update will occur on 7/1/21. Sign up ahead of time here.
A reminder that all the written updates and virtual town hall recordings can be found here.
If there is a topic you would like to see covered, please email ideas to, pio@gunnisoncounty.org.
COVID Testing Schedule
All testing provided at the GVH testing site will be scheduled Monday-Friday from 9am-12pm.
Appointments continue to be made through the Gunnison County Call Center at 970-641-7660. Those seeking testing who are asymptomatic should continue to request testing through the Call Center. A reminder testing can be scheduled for any reason.
Call Center: 970-641-7660
The Call Center is open from 8 a.m.-12p.m. and 1 p.m.- 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The Call Center is available to help with questions about vaccination or testing.
For those needing assistance outside of those hours, please leave a message. There will also be someone monitoring the callcenter@gunnisoncounty.org email.