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COVID In Colorado: Aurora Doctor Puzzled As To Why Vaccine Demand Is Decreasing

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Dr. P.J. Parmar didn't think he'd still be administering vaccinations. He admits he thought it would just be a month or two and then he would get back to his normal job running Mango House, a clinic focused on Colorado's refugee population. After more than 6,000 shots, he is starting to see demand decrease.

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"We're not at the point where we have steep declines, we've just noticed our decline is going down steadily. I'm wondering if that's going to taper off or if it's going to keep going sharply down," Parmar said.

"There's, I think, a few reasons why; one is I think people are finding supply elsewhere which is fantastic, they can get it other places; the other is demand is going down a little bit. The people who really, really wanted it have gotten it."

Parmar started recruiting volunteers to help in the effort to vaccinate the 80010 zip code. He frequently calls it the poorest zip code in the Denver metro area. He says the past four months of vaccinations have stressed and stretched his staff.

Volunteers are now helping submit patient information and even administering shots, but the demand fluctuates.

"I recruited a whole bunch of volunteers recently and then demand starts falling off. So, there are some times when the volunteers are standing around idle, and I'm feeling guilty that I called these folks, and they're standing here ready to help. I'm worried at what point do we not need volunteers, but hopefully that's not happening soon," Parmer said.

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He's not sure if the demand is going down because access and supply is increasing elsewhere, or if more needs to be done to reach people hesitant to get their shots.

"It's all the minorities and the Caucasian population too, they're all going down a little bit. So we're trying to come up with new innovative ideas how can we keep pushing it," he said.

He's made a few house calls for people who couldn't make it to his clinic, but he's finding the community is having the best impact in getting more people to come get the vaccine.

"At the churches, at the groceries, at the sporting events, some people need to just keep hearing that. From their doctor or from other trusted sources," he said.

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