{"id":37435,"date":"2021-02-01T10:23:40","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T17:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=37435"},"modified":"2025-09-04T14:01:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T20:01:41","slug":"mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/","title":{"rendered":"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 elated Coloradans life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. One man also survived the 1918 pandemic."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><figure id=\"attachment_37449\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37449\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37449 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Nathaniel Anderson received his COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination event at Coors Field in Denver on Saturday.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny-300x201.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny-768x514.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny-200x134.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nathaniel Anderson of Denver gives a thumbs up after receiving his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine during Colorado&#8217;s largest drive-through mass vaccination event. About 10,000 people received their vaccines in a parking lot at Coors Field over the weekend. Photos by Cyrus McCrimmon for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Harold \u201cTommy\u201d Thompson survived his first pandemic back in 1918 when the Spanish flu ravaged the world, infecting an estimated 500 million or one-third of the world&#8217;s population at the time.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, a couple of weeks after turning 103, Thompson received a vaccine to keep him safe from COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is his second pandemic,\u201d said Eileen Meis, one of Thompson\u2019s five children.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37452\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37452\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-37452\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100446\/Tommy-with-book-and-dog-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Harold &quot;Tommy&quot; Thompson, 103, sits with his dog and shows off a memoir after receiving hsi vaccine.\" width=\"800\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100446\/Tommy-with-book-and-dog-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100446\/Tommy-with-book-and-dog-tiny-300x215.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100446\/Tommy-with-book-and-dog-tiny-768x549.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100446\/Tommy-with-book-and-dog-tiny-150x107.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100446\/Tommy-with-book-and-dog-tiny-200x143.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37452\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harold &#8220;Tommy&#8221; Thompson sits in his car after receiving his vaccine. With him is his dog, Keks, and his daughter and son-in-law. Thompson holds a memoir he wrote. He was born in 1918 and survived the flu. The photo on the cover shows him at age 2 in 1920.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thompson was among 10,000 people who received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at a Coors Field parking lot over the weekend during Colorado\u2019s largest mass drive-through vaccination event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel good, and I appreciate all of you working like this,\u201d Thompson said after receiving his vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful,\u201d added his son-in-law, Kevin Meis. \u201cWe have hope and can start to get our lives moving again. We know that he wouldn&#8217;t survive COVID if he got it.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37451\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37451\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-37451\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100442\/Tommy-getting-his-vaccine-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Harold &quot;Tommy&quot; Thompson receives his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination event at Coors Field over the weekend.\" width=\"800\" height=\"543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100442\/Tommy-getting-his-vaccine-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100442\/Tommy-getting-his-vaccine-tiny-300x204.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100442\/Tommy-getting-his-vaccine-tiny-768x521.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100442\/Tommy-getting-his-vaccine-tiny-150x102.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100442\/Tommy-getting-his-vaccine-tiny-200x136.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37451\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harold &#8220;Tommy&#8221; Thompson was in great spirits as he received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday. He was born in 1918, survived that year&#8217;s devastating flu pandemic, and is still enjoys reading, especially the two memoirs he wrote.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong> <div class=\"su-callout-box col-xs-12 col-sm-6 right\" style=\"background-color:#dce4e7; color:#2e3b44;\"><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>How to get your COVID-19 Vaccine\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>For information on getting COVID-19 vaccines through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\">UCHealth<\/a>, please click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/services\/infectious-diseases\/coronavirus-covid-19\/covid-19-vaccine\/\">here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>If you have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/access-my-health-connection\/\">My Health Connection account<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>you are added to the vaccine list and will automatically receive updates (by email and in the app) regarding the vaccine once it&#8217;s your turn to receive it.<\/li>\n<li>Governmental and health leaders with the <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.colorado.gov\/covid-19\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>State of Colorado<\/strong><\/a> determine the order in which people can receive vaccines. For more information on priority groups click <strong><a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.colorado.gov\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If you do not have a My Health Connection account<\/strong> or are new to UCHealth, <strong><a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/mychart.uchealth.org\/mychartebiz\/registration\/register\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sign up for an account<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to be placed on our list to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it is <strong><a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.colorado.gov\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">available for your phase, according to the state\u2019s plan<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>You <strong>do not need to be a current UCHealth patient<\/strong> to receive a vaccine through UCHealth.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You do need an appointment to receive a vaccine.<\/strong><strong><\/div><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"su-row\"><\/div>\n<p>UCHealth and University of Colorado School of Medicine experts organized and staffed the vaccine clinic in partnership with the Colorado Rockies, the State of Colorado, the City of Denver, the Denver Police and Verizon.<\/p>\n<p>The clinic was open to people ages 70 and older, all of whom had received invitations by phone or email to make appointments and get their first dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. All will return to Coors Field in three weeks to get their second booster dose.<\/p>\n<p>Thompson was among a handful of centenarians who came. Some vaccine recipients had served in World War II. Some traveled more than 100 miles to get the much-sought-after vaccines. The fittest rode their bikes. Many brought dogs and family members who cheered as doctors, nurses and other providers gave patients a quick shot and sped them on their way. Everyone was thrilled to get potentially life-saving vaccines during the worst global pandemic since 1918.<\/p>\n<h2>Thompson&#8217;s mom saved him from 1918 flu by stopping outsiders at the gate<\/h2>\n<p>Back then, Thompson was an infant and his mother kept the family safe by barring any outsiders from coming past the front gate of the family\u2019s farmhouse in Egypt, Mississippi, population 75. Thompson grew up in Egypt and went on to play football at Mississippi State University, where his coach dubbed him \u201cTommy,\u201d a nickname that has stuck all of these years. He\u2019s the oldest known surviving MSU Bulldog and received a commemorative football when he turned 100. Thompson and his beloved wife, Rosemary, farmed, grew cotton and raised dairy cows. During World War II, Thompson supported the war effort on the home front by managing a facility that repaired airplanes. Thompson has five children, 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Rosemary died in 2011 and in 2016, Thompson moved to Colorado to live with Eileen and Kevin at their home in Westminster.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37467\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37467\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-37467\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01103400\/Tommy-with-Eileen-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Harold &quot;Tommy&quot; Thompson, poses with his daughter, Eileen after receiving his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic in Denver on Sunday.\" width=\"800\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01103400\/Tommy-with-Eileen-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01103400\/Tommy-with-Eileen-tiny-300x196.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01103400\/Tommy-with-Eileen-tiny-768x501.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01103400\/Tommy-with-Eileen-tiny-150x98.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01103400\/Tommy-with-Eileen-tiny-200x131.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37467\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harold &#8220;Tommy&#8221; Thompson, 103, poses with his daughter, Eileen, after receiving his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic in Denver on Sunday. &#8220;Yeehaw!&#8221; Eileen exclaimed after her dad got his vaccine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While Thompson remembers stories from his childhood well and penned two memoirs that he still enjoys reading, he has dementia now. He misses shaking people\u2019s hands and socializing. Each day throughout this pandemic, his family has had to explain anew that a deadly pathogen has wreaked havoc on the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe forgets about the virus every day. He wonders why we don\u2019t take him anywhere,\u201d said Eileen.<\/p>\n<p>But on Sunday, Thompson was in great spirits. He arrived with his companion, a little rescue dog, Keks, which means biscuit in German. Thompson slipped off a Mississippi State jacket as Claire Schend, a nurse who normally works at a cancer infusion center in Fort Collins, gently inserted a needle into Thompson\u2019s right arm.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37487\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37487\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37487 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111237\/Clinic-with-downtown-tiny-1.webp\" alt=\"The view of the mass vaccination event with downtown Denver and the mountains in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111237\/Clinic-with-downtown-tiny-1.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111237\/Clinic-with-downtown-tiny-1-300x183.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111237\/Clinic-with-downtown-tiny-1-768x468.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111237\/Clinic-with-downtown-tiny-1-150x92.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111237\/Clinic-with-downtown-tiny-1-200x122.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37487\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view of the mass vaccination event with downtown Denver and the mountains in the distance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cYeeha!\u201d Eileen exclaimed. \u201cWe have been waiting for this for over a year. He thought we were torturing him.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Mass vaccination event at baseball stadium &#8216;hits it out of the park&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>On both Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of people lined up early before the official opening at 8 a.m. As the sun rose, golden light shimmered over six lanes of cars that stretched about half a mile from a large check-in tent that resembled a toll plaza. The skyscrapers of downtown Denver rose nearby, while the snow-capped mountains jutted up to the west.<\/p>\n<p>The cars snaked through a long parking lot that normally accommodates Colorado Rockies baseball fans. Health workers and volunteer medical students checked patients in, then funneled them to 20 vaccination stations.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37480\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37480\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37480 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105117\/sun-rises-on-cars-tiny.webp\" alt=\"The sun rises and bounces off cars lined up for a mass vaccination event.\" width=\"800\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105117\/sun-rises-on-cars-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105117\/sun-rises-on-cars-tiny-300x201.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105117\/sun-rises-on-cars-tiny-768x516.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105117\/sun-rises-on-cars-tiny-150x101.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105117\/sun-rises-on-cars-tiny-200x134.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37480\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The sun danced on cars full of happy people getting their vaccines at a mass vaccination event in Denver over the weekend.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>More than 35 UCHealth staffers have been working nearly around the clock to prepare for the event since Jan. 7, the day when Colorado leaders asked UCHealth leaders if they could organize and run a mass vaccination event. The team did a practice run and fine-tuned their technique on Jan. 24, when they vaccinated 1,000 older adults.<\/p>\n<p>At other sports venues around the U.S., mass vaccine clinics have run into major snafus from hours-long waits and delays to closures forced by protesters.<\/p>\n<p>Here in Colorado, organizers were thrilled with the outcome. Most people were able to get in and out in about 30 minutes. The fastest zipped through in 22 minutes, including check-in, vaccination and a 15-minute observation period in a nearby parking lot to ensure no one had adverse reactions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hit it out of the park. This event marks the light at the end of the tunnel. This is the model for drive-through mass vaccination. We now know that our single limitation is the supply of vaccine,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/richard-zane-md-emergency-medicine\/\">Dr. Richard Zane<\/a>, executive director of emergency services at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-university-of-colorado-hospital-uch\/\">UCHeath University of Colorado Hospital<\/a>, and UCHealth\u2019s Chief Innovation Officer.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37489\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37489\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37489 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111246\/Elbow-bump-Zane-and-Polis-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Gov. Jared Polis does an elbow bump with Dr. Richard Zane as he arrives at the mass vaccination event at Coors Field in Denver on Saturday. Manny Rodriguez of UCHealth stands to the governor's left.\" width=\"800\" height=\"521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111246\/Elbow-bump-Zane-and-Polis-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111246\/Elbow-bump-Zane-and-Polis-tiny-300x195.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111246\/Elbow-bump-Zane-and-Polis-tiny-768x500.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111246\/Elbow-bump-Zane-and-Polis-tiny-150x98.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111246\/Elbow-bump-Zane-and-Polis-tiny-200x130.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37489\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Jared Polis was thrilled with how smoothly the mass vaccination event at Coors Field in Denver was going when he visited on Saturday. Here, Polis greets Dr. Richard Zane, UCHealth&#8217;s chief innovation officer, with an elbow bump as Manny Rodriguez, UCHealth chief marketing, experience and customer officer, looks on from the left.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>UCHealth leaders are eager to offer more vaccination clinics throughout Colorado, said Zane, who is also <a href=\"https:\/\/som.ucdenver.edu\/Profiles\/Faculty\/Profile\/20587\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a professor and chair of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-at-university-of-colorado-anschutz-medical-campus\/\">Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The team that organized and hosted the mass clinic is creating a playbook to share with other health care systems in Colorado and around the U.S. so they can duplicate the event if they wish.<\/p>\n<p>Among the key planners were Sarah White and Kathy Deanda. Together with a core team, they gamed out every detail and predicted down to the second how long each step would take. They had triple-redundant back-up plans for critical functions in case complications arose.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37478\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37478\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37478 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105107\/Rows-of-cars-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Cars lined up at a mass vaccination event in a parking lot at Coors Field.\" width=\"800\" height=\"502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105107\/Rows-of-cars-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105107\/Rows-of-cars-tiny-300x188.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105107\/Rows-of-cars-tiny-768x482.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105107\/Rows-of-cars-tiny-150x94.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105107\/Rows-of-cars-tiny-200x126.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37478\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">People were so excited for a mass vaccination event at Denver&#8217;s Coors Field that some arrived early. That wasn&#8217;t necessary. Most patients were in and out in under 30 minutes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And since University of Colorado Hospital is an academic medical center where research is vital, they did some studies too. They timed how long cars took to wind through the clinic. They tested a \u201cpit-crew\u201d system, where a team of health care workers cocooned patients\u2019 cars, checking them in and delivering vaccines all in one location. They learned they could do all that in 56 seconds and compared that system to an alternative method where drivers checked in at one spot, then drove forward to one of an array of inoculation tents. Both systems worked well, and organizers fine-tuned in real time as they discovered which system worked best.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s gone very well. This is a huge day for our patients,\u201d said White, who is UCHealth\u2019s senior director of innovation and system project management. \u201cWe\u2019ve made a lot of real-time adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Patients loved smooth and efficient mass vaccination event<\/h2>\n<p>Patients loved the seamless system.<\/p>\n<p>Among the happy vaccine recipients were Doris and Nathaniel Anderson of Aurora. She\u2019s 73 and he\u2019s 74. Both recently received their vaccine appointment invitations through UCHealth\u2019s online portal, My Health Connection.<\/p>\n<p>Doris was hesitant at first about getting her vaccine since she has allergies. She worried about having an allergic reaction. But, she also has diabetes and breathing issues, so she knows she\u2019s at high risk for getting critically ill if she gets COVID-19. So, she prayed about her decision and opted to go ahead with the vaccine. She\u2019s been feeling great ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Doris wore a cap that said \u201cVIP,\u201d and felt like a very important person on Saturday.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37474\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37474\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37474 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105050\/Cyclist-tiny-1.webp\" alt=\"John Wethey, 72, rode his bike from Golden all the way to Coors Field in downtown Denver. Giving him his COVID-19 vaccine was Gabriela Marin.\" width=\"800\" height=\"545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105050\/Cyclist-tiny-1.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105050\/Cyclist-tiny-1-300x204.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105050\/Cyclist-tiny-1-768x523.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105050\/Cyclist-tiny-1-150x102.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105050\/Cyclist-tiny-1-200x136.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37474\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Wethey, 72, rode his bike about 20 miles each way from Golden to Coors Field in downtown Denver to receive his COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 31. Gabriela Marin gave Wethey his vaccine. She typically works at UCHealth Internal Medicine &#8211; Lowry. Wethey said he was excited to receive his vaccine. He loves to ride his bike both for his health and to preserve the environment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt was excellent. We both talked about how efficient it was and how impressed we were with the organization,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were in and out of there in about 35 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neither she nor her husband had any side-effects, not even a sore arm. And they\u2019re relieved that they\u2019ll soon have some protection from the highly contagious coronavirus. Nathaniel has had some heart problems in the past. Doris saved his life in 2019 when his heart stopped and he collapsed in their kitchen. She did CPR, started his heart and called for help. Emergency workers kept his heart going as it stopped a couple more times on the way to University of Colorado Hospital. He now has a pacemaker and a defibrillator and is doing well.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37495\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37495\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37495 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01112420\/Convertible-tiny.webp\" alt=\"John Herrick, a retired lawyer and law professor, arrived for his vaccine in a convertible.\" width=\"800\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01112420\/Convertible-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01112420\/Convertible-tiny-300x180.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01112420\/Convertible-tiny-768x462.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01112420\/Convertible-tiny-150x90.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01112420\/Convertible-tiny-200x120.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37495\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Herrick, 71, lives near Coors Field and arrived in his convertible to get his vaccine. He received his first dose from nurse, Laura Madsen, who has been working in ICUs at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, where some of the most critically ill COVID-19 patients have received care. Madsen described working at the mass vaccination event on Jan. 31 as one of the best days of her nursing career.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Andersons care for three men who have developmental disabilities in their home. For nearly a year since the virus surfaced early in 2020, all five of them have been hunkering down to avoid getting sick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy husband and I have been terribly blessed and highly favored during the pandemic,\u201d Doris said.<\/p>\n<p>The couple works hard to care for the men and to shop and cook all of their meals. Everyone has stayed healthy, and the couple looks forward to spending more time in the future with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n<h2>Gov. Jared Polis on mass vaccination model: &#8216;We can do 10,000 again and again and again&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>To make the event come together, Zane challenged the team to go big. He\u2019s an expert at handling casualty care and mass gatherings medicine. He saluted the team for making the impossible possible.<\/p>\n<p>He called their system \u201cblue-ocean planning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe start with a goal. Then, you have the entire ocean to plan it: a blank canvas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the leaders first surveyed the empty parking lot at Coors Field, \u201cmost people thought we were insane,\u201d Zane said.<\/p>\n<p>A mere 2 \u00bd weeks later, the site seemed tailor-made for a mass vaccine event.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37450\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37450\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37450 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100438\/Polis-at-vaccine-event-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Gov. Polis peers from the fourth story of a parking garage down at a mass vaccination event on Saturday.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100438\/Polis-at-vaccine-event-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100438\/Polis-at-vaccine-event-tiny-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100438\/Polis-at-vaccine-event-tiny-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100438\/Polis-at-vaccine-event-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100438\/Polis-at-vaccine-event-tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37450\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Jared Polis peers from the fourth story of an adjacent parking garage at a mass vaccination event at Coors Field. The governor visited on Jan. 30. The event ran over the weekend and 10,000 people received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Among those who visited were Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. He saluted the leaders for vaccinating so many people so quickly and for creating a template for future mass vaccination events.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can do 10,000 this weekend, then do it again and again,\u201d Polis said as he stood atop an adjacent parking garage and surveyed the massive operation four stories below him.<\/p>\n<p>Polis encouraged all Coloradans to sign up for vaccines. He expects most adults, ages 70 and older, to be vaccinated by the end of February. And on Feb. 8, teachers and people ages 65 and older can start receiving their vaccines.<\/p>\n<p>About 170 UCHealth staffers ran the event each day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a massive team approach,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37493\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37493\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37493 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111849\/Polis-with-worker-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Gov. Jared Polis speaks with a UCHealth worker during a mass vaccination event on Saturday, Jan. 30 at Denver's Coors Field.\" width=\"800\" height=\"595\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111849\/Polis-with-worker-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111849\/Polis-with-worker-tiny-300x223.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111849\/Polis-with-worker-tiny-768x571.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111849\/Polis-with-worker-tiny-150x112.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111849\/Polis-with-worker-tiny-200x149.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37493\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Jared Polis hears how UCHealth leaders designed a system that provided vaccines to people ages 70 and older swiftly and safely.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In addition to smart people, the team made the most of technology, said Kathy Deanda, who is a nurse, a computer programmer and UCHealth\u2019s director of virtual health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re out here in the middle of a parking lot. But each tent has handheld devices that look like smart phones. They\u2019re called rovers. And in real time, the (health care providers) are logging into EPIC, (the medical record),\u201d Deanda said.<\/p>\n<p>At the push of a button, providers could track their patients so they could quickly get to the important task at hand, pushing vaccines into arms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe secret sauce is IT,\u201d said Zane.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d said Deanda. \u201cAnd 4,000 of these 5,000 patients \u2018e-checked\u2019 in before they arrived. They brought their bar codes with them so we could check them in and vaccinate them in under a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Pharmacy workers sometimes coaxed a 7th dose out of each precious vaccine bottle<\/h2>\n<p>Along with the clinic leaders, another set of health care heroes was working behind the scenes: a group of about 25 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who were quietly preparing thousands of doses of vaccines. They huddled in a tent at the edge of the parking lot, and over and over again, shook bottles of the precious liquid, then loaded it into syringes. Their guiding mission: not to waste a single molecule of vaccine. Every once in a while, a cheer erupted from the tent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe got a seventh!\u201d said Christy Harmon, the pharmacy supervisor for the clinic.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37476\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37476\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37476 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105059\/Loading-syringes-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Chastity Montoya was part of the team that prepared doses for the mass vaccination event on Jan. 30 and 31.\" width=\"800\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105059\/Loading-syringes-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105059\/Loading-syringes-tiny-300x201.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105059\/Loading-syringes-tiny-768x516.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105059\/Loading-syringes-tiny-150x101.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105059\/Loading-syringes-tiny-200x134.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37476\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chastity Montonya was part of the team that prepared doses for the mass vaccination event on Jan. 30 and 31. She concentrates so she doesn&#8217;t waste a single drop of the precious liquid.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She was referring to a very special seventh dose of vaccine that workers occasionally can eke out of a bottle.<\/p>\n<p>Each container of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contains five precious doses. But, with the right syringes, experienced technicians regularly can squeeze a sixth dose from each bottle. Then, once in a blue moon, or maybe once an hour or so, talented, patient workers can coax out a seventh bonus dose. That leads to raucous cheering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going really well. They\u2019re the heroes. They\u2019re working above and beyond their regular hours and they\u2019re working tirelessly,\u201d Harmon said of her team of 25 people.<\/p>\n<h2>Nurses, students, volunteers, doctors celebrate: Mass vaccination event one of the best days ever<\/h2>\n<p>The workers spread out at vaccination tents throughout the site were thrilled too. Some wore ski pants and Sorrell boots as they braved the morning chill.<\/p>\n<p>Laura Madsen is a nurse who has been working in the ICUs at University of Colorado Hospital since the pandemic began. That\u2019s where the most critically ill COVID-19 patients have received care. She has had to hold up iPads so family members could say goodbye to their loved ones.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37475\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37475\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37475 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105054\/Dancing-PA-student-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Allison Avery kicks up her legs as she holds vaccine cards during a mass vaccination clinic at Coors Field in Denver on Jan. 31. Avery is studying to become a physician assistant and volunteered to help at all future mass vaccination events.\" width=\"800\" height=\"588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105054\/Dancing-PA-student-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105054\/Dancing-PA-student-tiny-300x221.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105054\/Dancing-PA-student-tiny-768x564.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105054\/Dancing-PA-student-tiny-150x110.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105054\/Dancing-PA-student-tiny-200x147.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37475\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Allison Avery was &#8220;super excited&#8221; to be helping out at the mass vaccination event. Avery is studying to become a physician assistant. She&#8217;s holding vaccination cards and has volunteered to help out at all mass vaccination events. She was thrilled to be part of &#8220;something so positive.&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThey just kept coming one after another after another,\u201d Madsen said, referring to patients who had to be admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 during the worst waves of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, patients kept coming, but on a much happier occasion.<\/p>\n<p>They kept driving up, pulled up their sleeves and grinned beneath colorful masks.<\/p>\n<p>Both Madsen and her patients were overjoyed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is one of the top three days of my 16-year nursing career,\u201d Madsen said. \u201cAll of the people here are in such great spirits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison Avery was practically dancing as she kicked up her legs in the lot. She\u2019s a student at the Anschutz Medical Campus where she\u2019s studying to become a physician assistant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m super excited to be a part of something so positive. I\u2019m obsessed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Avery volunteered to staff the vaccine clinic this weekend and has signed up to volunteer at every other clinic she can attend.<\/p>\n<p>Another volunteer was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/ct-lin-md-internal-medicine\/\">Dr. C.T. Lin<\/a>, UCHealth\u2019s Chief Medical Information Officer and an internal medicine doctor who typically works at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-internal-medicine-lowry\/\">UCHealth Internal Medicine \u2013 Lowry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37488\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37488\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37488 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111242\/Dr.-Lin-with-a-patient-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Dr. C.T. Lin inoculated people during a mass vaccination event at Coors Field.\" width=\"800\" height=\"571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111242\/Dr.-Lin-with-a-patient-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111242\/Dr.-Lin-with-a-patient-tiny-300x214.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111242\/Dr.-Lin-with-a-patient-tiny-768x548.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111242\/Dr.-Lin-with-a-patient-tiny-150x107.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111242\/Dr.-Lin-with-a-patient-tiny-200x143.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37488\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. C.T. Lin volunteered to inoculate people during both days of the mass vaccination event at Coors Field on Jan. 30 and 31. He called the work some of the most &#8220;gratifying&#8221; of the pandemic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He wore his white coat and happily gave vaccine after vaccine to elated patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is some of the most gratifying work that I\u2019ve done during the pandemic,\u201d said Lin. \u201cIf we stand here long enough, we\u2019re going to crush this pandemic!\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>An 86-year-old great-grandmother prayed and decided to get the vaccine. Now she&#8217;s praying for the pandemic to end<\/h2>\n<p>Among the grateful patients receiving care on Sunday was Soledad Balderrama, 86.<\/p>\n<p>Her granddaughter, Laura Cano, brought her to the clinic.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37479\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37479\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37479 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105112\/Soledad-holding-her-necklace-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Soledad Balerrama shows her necklace that she uses like a rosary. Balderrama, 86, prayed about her decision to get a vaccine and now is praying for the pandemic to end.\" width=\"800\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105112\/Soledad-holding-her-necklace-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105112\/Soledad-holding-her-necklace-tiny-300x207.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105112\/Soledad-holding-her-necklace-tiny-768x531.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105112\/Soledad-holding-her-necklace-tiny-150x104.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01105112\/Soledad-holding-her-necklace-tiny-200x138.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37479\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">After receiving her vaccine on Jan. 31, Soledad Balderrama shows the necklace that she uses like a rosary. Balderrama, 86, prayed about her decision to get a vaccine and now is praying for the pandemic to end.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Laura\u2019s mom and one of Soledad\u2019s daughters died when she was a little girl. Soledad raised Laura and now, the tables have turned. Laura and her two sons now take care of Soledad at their home in Denver\u2019s Montbello neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>Soledad was born in Mexico and speaks Spanish. On hand to help her with her vaccine was UCHealth interpreter Liz Lubelski.<\/p>\n<p>With her black hair in braids and a warm hat atop her head, Soledad described how she has stayed so healthy. She walks and climbs the stairs. She loves to cook and eats a lot of vegetables, especially nopalitos or cactus.<\/p>\n<p>Soledad was nervous about getting the vaccine, but decided to go ahead after saying some prayers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37490\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37490\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37490 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111250\/Liz-flagging-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Liz Luebelski interpreted for Spanish speakers and danced and flagged at the mass vaccination event.\" width=\"800\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111250\/Liz-flagging-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111250\/Liz-flagging-tiny-300x203.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111250\/Liz-flagging-tiny-768x519.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111250\/Liz-flagging-tiny-150x101.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01111250\/Liz-flagging-tiny-200x135.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37490\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Liz Lubelski is a UCHealth interpreter. She danced and flagged and searched for anyone who might need her help during both days of the mass vaccination event. &#8220;We care for everybody. We want people to know that we have people here who speak their language,&#8221; Lubelski said.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She was happy afterwards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHopefully, I won\u2019t get sick now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Before leaving, Soledad showed off her necklace that has beads that allow her to say the rosary again and again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just pray to God for everybody. I\u2019ve always asked God to end the pandemic,\u201d Soledad said.<\/p>\n<h2>Rockies&#8217; owner: &#8216;We&#8217;ve got to distribute vaccines in a fast and efficient way&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>Another person doing his part to end the pandemic was Dick Monfort, owner, chairman and CEO of the Colorado Rockies.<\/p>\n<p>Few of the patients weaving through the parking lot realized that a man wearing a purple Colorado Rockies hat was the team owner. Monfort spent hours this weekend and last standing on the pavement and waving an orange flag to guide patients through the parking lot.<\/p>\n<p>He asked 40 staff members to volunteer at the clinic. So, Monfort and his wife, Karen, stepped up too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been a real advocate of getting people vaccinated,\u201d Monfort said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to push the government to get us our share. Then, we\u2019ve got to distribute the vaccines in a fast and efficient way.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37499\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37499\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-37499\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01114154\/Dick-Monfort-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Dick Monfort, owner of the Colorado Rockies, volunteered as a flagger during a mass vaccination event in a Coors Field parking lot over the weekend in Denver.\" width=\"800\" height=\"582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01114154\/Dick-Monfort-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01114154\/Dick-Monfort-tiny-300x218.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01114154\/Dick-Monfort-tiny-768x559.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01114154\/Dick-Monfort-tiny-150x109.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01114154\/Dick-Monfort-tiny-200x146.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37499\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dick Monfort, owner of the Colorado Rockies, volunteered as a flagger during a mass vaccination event in a Coors Field parking lot over the weekend in Denver.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Monfort was thrilled that the mass event worked so well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere\u2019s the deal. It\u2019s all about the customer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Monfort was thrilled to be part of such a \u201csmooth\u201d operation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody is thanking us. UCHealth has done things the right way. It\u2019s fun to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Harold \u201cTommy\u201d Thompson survived his first pandemic back in 1918 when the Spanish flu ravaged the world, infecting an estimated 500 million or one-third of the world&#8217;s population at the time. On Sunday, a couple of weeks after turning 103, Thompson received a vaccine to keep him safe from COVID-19. \u201cThis is his second pandemic,\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2123,"featured_media":37449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4859,4860,9069],"class_list":["post-37435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-covid-19-vaccine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 doses of vaccine - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UCHealth&#039;s COVID-19 mass vaccination drive-though event a success; model for future by getting most people in and out in just over 20 minutes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 elated Coloradans life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. One man also survived the 1918 pandemic.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UCHealth&#039;s COVID-19 mass vaccination drive-though event a success; model for future by getting most people in and out in just over 20 minutes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-01T17:23:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-04T20:01:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"21 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9\"},\"headline\":\"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 elated Coloradans life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. One man also survived the 1918 pandemic.\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-01T17:23:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-04T20:01:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":3793,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/01100434\\\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"coronavirus\",\"COVID-19\",\"COVID-19 vaccine\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 doses of vaccine - UCHealth Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/01100434\\\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-01T17:23:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-04T20:01:41+00:00\",\"description\":\"UCHealth's COVID-19 mass vaccination drive-though event a success; model for future by getting most people in and out in just over 20 minutes.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/01100434\\\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/01100434\\\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp\",\"width\":800,\"height\":535,\"caption\":\"Nathaniel Anderson received his COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination event at Coors Field in Denver on Saturday.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 elated Coloradans life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. One man also survived the 1918 pandemic.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"description\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UCHealth\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"UCHealth\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/uchealth\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/uchealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/school\\\/14839\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9\",\"name\":\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\"},\"description\":\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon is a proud Coloradan. She attended Colorado College thanks to a merit scholarship from the Boettcher Foundation and worked as a park ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park during summers in college. Katie is a dedicated storyteller who loves getting to know UCHealth patients and providers and sharing their inspiring stories. Katie spent years working as an award-winning journalist at the Rocky Mountain News and at an online health policy news site before joining UCHealth in 2017. Katie and her husband, Cyrus \u2014 a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer \u2014 have three adult children and love spending time in the Colorado mountains and traveling around the world.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/author\\\/mccrimmonk\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 doses of vaccine - UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth's COVID-19 mass vaccination drive-though event a success; model for future by getting most people in and out in just over 20 minutes.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 elated Coloradans life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. One man also survived the 1918 pandemic.","og_description":"UCHealth's COVID-19 mass vaccination drive-though event a success; model for future by getting most people in and out in just over 20 minutes.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/","og_site_name":"UCHealth Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","article_published_time":"2021-02-01T17:23:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-04T20:01:41+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uchealth","twitter_site":"@uchealth","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth","Est. reading time":"21 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/"},"author":{"name":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9"},"headline":"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 elated Coloradans life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. One man also survived the 1918 pandemic.","datePublished":"2021-02-01T17:23:40+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-04T20:01:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/"},"wordCount":3793,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp","keywords":["coronavirus","COVID-19","COVID-19 vaccine"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/","name":"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 doses of vaccine - UCHealth Today","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp","datePublished":"2021-02-01T17:23:40+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-04T20:01:41+00:00","description":"UCHealth's COVID-19 mass vaccination drive-though event a success; model for future by getting most people in and out in just over 20 minutes.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/01100434\/Nathaniel-thumbs-up-tiny.webp","width":800,"height":535,"caption":"Nathaniel Anderson received his COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination event at Coors Field in Denver on Saturday."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mass-vaccination-event-gives-10000-coloradans-covid-19-vaccines\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mass vaccination event gives 10,000 elated Coloradans life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. One man also survived the 1918 pandemic."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","name":"UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth Today","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization","name":"UCHealth","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"UCHealth"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/uchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uchealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/14839\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9","name":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth"},"description":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon is a proud Coloradan. She attended Colorado College thanks to a merit scholarship from the Boettcher Foundation and worked as a park ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park during summers in college. Katie is a dedicated storyteller who loves getting to know UCHealth patients and providers and sharing their inspiring stories. Katie spent years working as an award-winning journalist at the Rocky Mountain News and at an online health policy news site before joining UCHealth in 2017. Katie and her husband, Cyrus \u2014 a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer \u2014 have three adult children and love spending time in the Colorado mountains and traveling around the world.","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/mccrimmonk\/"}]}},"coauthors":[{"id":2123,"name":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/mccrimmonk\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37435"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85345,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37435\/revisions\/85345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}