COVID booster shots hard to find in Colorado

• The first appointments available at Kaiser Permanente in the Denver area are a month from now.
• UCHealth is just receiving its first shipments of the shot.
• Walk-in appointments at some pharmacies are not available.

The intrigue: Without insurance, it's not cheap. Safeway is charging $250 for the vaccine.

The big picture: The rush to get the vaccine, which was approved Sept. 11, comes as infections and hospitalizations have increased in recent weeks.

• Providers say the national rollout is troubled by distribution problems and vaccine makers didn't produce enough. Without the option to pre-order before CDC approval, providers all placed orders at the same time.

Of note: Unlike the height of the pandemic, the state is not facilitating the vaccine rollout or offering mass immunization clinics.