DENVER | The delta variant is still the most prevalent COVID-19 variant circulating in Colorado but that is expected to change over the next several weeks, Gov. Jared Polis said during a Tuesday press conference.
“Transmission of the omicron variant in Colorado is spreading,” Polis said. “It is still not the predominant strain in Colorado, but based on what has occurred elsewhere we can expect omicron to increase as we see delta decreasing.”
That will likely affect Colorado’s push to get people infected and sick with the coronavirus to undergo an infusion treatment shown to reduce illness and the likelihood of hospitalization in patients deemed at-risk for severe cases.
As strained U.S. hospitals brace for a new surge of COVID-19 cases caused by the fast-spreading omicron variant, doctors are warning of yet another challenge: the two standard drugs they’ve used to fight infections are unlikely to work against the new strain.
For the past several weeks, Gov. Jared Polis has touted the monoclonal antibody treatments as a way to prevent severe sickness and hospitalization. Colorado has gone so far as to set up mobile clinics across the state, making it so no prescription is needed for treatment, just a positive COVID-19 test.
Polis pressed for expansion of the program as a way to keep Colorado hospitals from being overrun with COVID-19 patients, filled mostly with unvaccinated people.
For more than a year antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly have been the go-to treatments for early COVID-19, thanks to their ability to head off severe disease and keep patients out of the hospital.
Those are the drugs that have been used in Colorado, officials say.
But both drugmakers recently warned that laboratory testing suggests their therapies will be much less potent against omicron, which contains dozens of mutations that make it harder for antibodies to attack the virus. And while the companies say they can quickly develop new omicron-targeting antibodies, those aren’t expected to launch for at least several months.
Polis said on Wednesday that even if the drugs are less effective against the new variant, they would not be harmful in some new way because of the omicron variant, and that they would still be useful. Polis did not offer expert comment during the press conference to back that up.
A third antibody from British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline appears to be the best positioned to fight omicron. But Glaxo’s drug is not widely available in the U.S., accounting for a small portion of the millions of doses purchased by the federal government and distributed to states.
“I think there’s going to be a shortage,” said Dr. Jonathan Li, director of the Harvard/Brigham Virology Specialty Laboratory. “We’re down to one FDA-authorized monoclonal antibody” with omicron because of the reduced effectiveness of Regeneron and Lilly’s drugs.
Currently, 1,030 people statewide in Colorado are hospitalized with COVID-19, 860 of whom are not vaccinated. That number has fallen steadily in the past few weeks. Meanwhile, the rate of positive COVID-19 tests has risen over the past several days.
Polis said that despite interest in President Joe Biden’s announcements that the administration would seek to provide half a billion free COVID at-home tests beginning next year, free at-home tests are available to Colorado residents now by completing forms by clicking here.
The tests can take several days to arrive by mail. Polis said those who need more rapid results, especially those experiencing symptoms, should seek out standard mobile COVID-19 tests sites. Information about a test site near you is available here.
Polis once again encouraged people to get vaccinated if they have not already done so, as that is the best way to protect against the virus.
He also encouraged people to get a booster shot, saying that it should not be considered a bonus dose but a vital add-on to the first two.
People who are fully vaccinated with a booster and 57 times less likely to die of COVID-19 than those who are unvaccinated, he said.
“Don’t put off getting your third dose, it will provide significant protection against omicron,” he said.
The Aurora Municipal Center is hosting a vaccine clinic from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday in the southwest parking lot of 15151 E. Alameda Parkway. Information about other places to get vaccinated is available at covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.