DENVER - In the last few weeks, there's been a countrywide back and forth over COVID-19 vaccines.
In late August, the Food and Drug Administration restricted those vaccines for only people who are 65+ or have an at-risk condition.
Those restrictions didn't last long in Colorado. On September 3, Governor Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment signed a public health order expanded access to the vaccine to anyone who wanted to get one.
That order went into effect September 5, 2025 and will last until September 4, 2026.
"I saw the story, and I was like, 'Oh! I can get it!'" said Pamela Maloney, a Colorado resident.
She said it's always been important to her to be up to date on all her vaccinations since her mother is a Registered Nurse.
"My dad's 82 now and he has COPD, and I see him every couple of months and it's just important to me to make sure that I'm not coming in sick," she said.
Two days after the order went into effect, she went to a King Soopers in Broomfield to get her COVID-19 vaccine.
"They said I couldn't because I wasn't 65 or older and didn't have one of the underlying conditions," she said, "I did tell them, 'I just saw something on the news. There's a new public health order that was signed that says that anybody can get one if they want one.'"
"What did they have to say?" asked Denver7's Danielle Kreutter.
"They were just like, 'No, you have to fill out this form and meet one of these conditions," Maloney said.
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Denver7 heard from two other community members. This couple went to the King Soopers location on Capitol Hill in Denver on September 9 and had the same experience. They were told they could not receive a COVID-19 vaccine unless they were 65+ or had an at-risk condition.
"I just didn't know if I was going to win the battle with the pharmacy. It's a big company," said Maloney.
So we took her concerns to King Soopers corporate. Denver7 was told over the phone by a spokesperson, King Soopers does not have an official statement on this, but they recommend customers speak to their pharmacist about vaccine options.
Maloney is hoping with time, all Colorado pharmacies can get on the same page.
"Whether it's the King Soopers pharmacy, Walgreens, CVS, Costco, whoever has it and it's available for them to give it, if the public health order is fully enforced and it's real, then I wish that they would all get that information correct," she said.
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