New vaccinations against COVID-19 rose modestly in Colorado during the week ending July 24, a sign that the 3-month-long drop in shots may be starting to stabilize.
At least 51,444 people received a COVID-19 shot last week, and the number could increase as late reports come in. As is, shots increased by a little under 4%, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
While that’s a small bump, the number of vaccines going into arms had declined every week since early April, with the exception of the second week of June.
On Wednesday, Gov. Jared Polis announced the state would offer $100 gift cards to people getting the shot at certain locations. It’s not clear if that incentive had a role in increasing vaccinations last week.
Colorado had about 352,000 unused vaccine doses as of last week. To use them all before they expire in two months, the state would need to keep up the pace of about 50,000 shots per week.
It’s not clear if that will happen, though the decline in new vaccinations had started to stabilize in July. The state reported 50,185 doses went into arms in the week ending July 10, and 49,604 did the following week. That was the smallest decline since vaccinations had started falling.
Some states where cases are rising rapidly have seen increased vaccinations, according to The Associated Press.
Colorado’s cases, compared to population, rose about 30% in the last two weeks, but that’s a relatively mild spike. Nationwide, cases have more than doubled in that time, according to The New York Times’ data tracker.