Boulder County Fairgrounds will close its free coronavirus testing and vaccination sites this month as demand for both has continued to decrease.

The vaccine clinic at the fairgrounds will close at 6 p.m. Sunday, and the testing site will end at 6 p.m. March 31.

Elizabeth Lawrence, BCPH spokesperson, said the need for a large vaccine and testing site has reduced as COVID-19 cases have waned. Other publicly-run testing and vaccination sites will remain open. Vaccine providers can be found at boco.org/covidvaccines and testing facilities are at boco.org/covid19testing.

The drive-thru vaccination clinic at the Boulder County Fairgrounds opened in January to meet the demand for COVID-19 vaccinations, driven by the rapid rise of cases due to the spread of the omicron variant in Colorado, according to a news release from Boulder County Public Health.

BCPH operated the sites at the fairgrounds in partnership with Nomi Health, the release said. It provided a total of 2,071 COVID-19 vaccines, including 644 first doses and 1,427 booster doses.

Since October 2020, BCPH partnered with Mako Medical and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to administer more than 200,000 COVID-19 tests at the fairgrounds drive-thru site.

“The collaboration between Boulder County Public Health, Mako Medical and Nomi Health provided significant support to Boulder County community members,” said Chris Campbell, BCPH emergency manager, in the news release. “The fairgrounds site allowed people to get vaccinated and tested quickly by providing drive-through services seven days a week when our community needed it most. We are grateful for these partnerships, and for the commitment of Boulder County residents to getting vaccinated and tested to protect the safety of the most vulnerable community members.”

As of Monday, more than 308,000 community members, or 98% of the eligible population in the county ages 5 and older, had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

It is critical that all members of the public get fully vaccinated, when they are eligible, the release said. Vaccines are the safest, most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to reduce hospitalizations and deaths from the virus.

In addition to getting fully vaccinated, BCPH recommends residents:

• Wear snugly fit medical grade masks while in close proximity or contact with individuals at high-risk for severe disease, hospitalization and death or in settings that primarily serve individuals who are not up-to-date with their vaccination or are at-high risk for severe disease.
• Get tested for COVID-19 before close interactions with people who are at high-risk for severe disease, hospitalization or death.