SAN LUIS VALLEY — Moving into the Thanksgiving holiday, hospitals in all regions of the state are still at or near capacity. Whether it is driving safely or taking precautions against the spread of illness, you can do your part to prevent additional hospitalizations during and following the holiday weekend. Layer your disease prevention measures as appropriate to the setting. If you have ANY illness symptoms, get tested, and then stay home. You may not be very sick yourself, but people you may expose to COVID-19, flu or other respiratory viruses may get very ill. 

COVID-19 vaccination efforts continue with strong interest in boosters. All adults 18 years and older may now receive boosters if enough time has passed since their last shot. (6 months for Moderna or Pfizer, and 2 months for J&J.) There are 23,398 San Luis Valley residents who are fully vaccinated, that is, two doses of Moderna or Pfizer or one dose of J&J.  Vaccination will decrease the likelihood of hospitalization, as current data for Colorado shows that 83% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. 

There were 263 active cases in the San Luis Valley as of Tuesday night. 

Alamosa County - 125

Conejos County - 25

Costilla County - 13

Mineral County - 3

Rio Grande County - 72

Saguache County - 25

VACCINATIONS

The free mobile vaccine clinics below accept walk-ins. Unless otherwise noted, these clinics will offer flu vaccines, Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J, including boosters and pediatric doses.

* Wednesday November 24th, 9am-4pm at Safeway in Alamosa

* Friday November 26th, 9am-5pm at Safeway Parking Lot in Monte Vista

* Saturday November 27th, 9am-3pm at Centennial High School in San Luis

* Sunday November 28th 10am-5pm at ASU Cultural Center/Nielson Library parking lot in Alamosa

* Tuesday November 30th, 9am-3pm at South Conejos School in Antonito

* Wednesday December 1st, 1pm-6pm at Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte

* Thursday December 2nd, 9am-3pm at Sierra Grande High School in Blanca

FREE TESTING

Free COVID-19 testing is available to the public through mobile clinics on the dates and locations listed below. Please note that the Thursday testing sites normally operating in Conejos County on Thursdays will not be available this week due to the holiday. 

* Mondays, 2pm-6pm at the Blanca Fort Garland Community Center

* Tuesdays, 10am-2pm at Rio Grande County Social Services, 1015 6th St in Del Norte

* Tuesdays, 3:30-6:00pm at Rainbow Grocery in South Fork, 30279 US - 160 South Fork

* Wednesdays, 9:30am-12:30pm at Chapman Park, 300-398 W Prospect Ave, Monte Vista

* Wednesdays, 2pm-6pm at the Community Center in Saguache

* Weekends (Friday - Monday), 8am-4pm behind Convenient Care in Alamosa

Free COVID-19 testing is also available to the public Monday-Thursday at Conour Hall on the Adams State campus. 

Additional data, testing, and vaccination information may be found at www.slvphp.com or by calling 719-480-8719. 

This will be the only COVID update for this week.