Time for COVID boosters if you’re 50 or older — Colorado is sending out reminders

Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Medical assistant Yasmin Tellez preps a Moderna COVID-19 vaccination at Globeville’s Clinica Tepeyac. Jan. 26, 2021.

Coloradans over the age of 50 should expect a text message and email reminders from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment about getting COVID-19 booster shots.

Last week, federal officials authorized a fourth dose of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines for people over 50. A third dose was recommended for all individuals last fall. 

Information about the fourth dose will be primarily sent to Coloradans aged 65 and up. Texts and emails will also be sent to people 50 and up who have yet to receive their first booster. 

Over two million Coloradans have gotten three vaccine shots. About 30 percent of the state’s eligible population have yet to receive their third one, according to state health officials. Children younger than 12 are currently ineligible for any booster shots. 

People seeking a booster should consult their county’s public health department or check with their doctor. State-run vaccine clinics, where many first got vaccinated, closed last month, with the state shifting the bulk of vaccine distribution to traditional health care settings.