DENVER | Gov. Jared Polis on Friday unveiled his administration’s road map for dealing with the increasingly endemic coronavirus threat, encouraging a return to normalcy for three-times-vaccinated Coloradans.
“The virus is here and will likely be here for the rest of our lives,” Polis said.
“If you choose to go without your mask, or attend a concert with your friends, or simply go out to dinner, and you’re fully vaccinated, then by all means: do it. Live your life. Don’t feel guilty. You only live once.”
The governor and public health officials were quick to point out that Colorado, which lost nearly 12,000 people to the virus, has the 10th lowest COVID-19 death rate in the nation. More than 90% of Coloradans are also believed to be protected from severe disease resulting from the omicron variant of the virus because of either vaccination or prior infection, Polis said.
He also said those who have received three doses of the vaccine are 96% less likely to die from the virus. Polis and state staffers acknowledged the work of health care providers and scientists as well as the residents who had received the vaccine and complied with public health guidelines.
“This represents an opportunity for us to reflect on the extraordinary heroism displayed in every area of our state, and also a new chapter in the response,” said Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment director Jill Ryan.
Polis encouraged residents who are immunocompromised and high-risk to seek out a fourth dose of the vaccine and talk to a doctor about how to remain safe. For others who have gotten three doses of the vaccine, the governor described a relaxation of restrictions.
“You’ve done your part, Colorado,” he said. “And you’ve earned the right to move beyond the pandemic in your lives.”
The first prong of Polis’ roadmap would focus on preparing hospitals for possible future waves of COVID-19, including potential new variants.
The state’s incident commander, Scott Bookman, said it was important for hospitals to be properly staffed and equipped for future surges, and that long-term care and behavioral health facilities are ready to accept patients who can be discharged from hospitals.
Bookman also said the state wants to see COVID-19 “normalized” within the health care system, so people can receive vaccines and testing through the offices of their primary care physicians and be prescribed therapeutic drugs, which he said will become more available in the coming months.
The second prong, public health readiness and surge planning, would include updating wastewater monitoring and genome sequencing capabilities. Outbreak prevention and response would focus on high-risk settings, such as homeless shelters, while the state would continue efforts to vaccinate vulnerable groups.
“We will be prepared to surge again if the moment requires us to surge,” Bookman said. “We will have contracts in place so that we can scale mass testing again. We will be prepared to do a mass vaccination campaign again if it is required.”
The plan would also prioritize health care workers and making it easier and more lucrative to enter the field. Finally, the state would lobby for the federal level to lower regulatory barriers for people accepting health care jobs in different states, increase funding for public health and wastewater surveillance, introduce standards for surveillance and hospital readiness, and invest in research of “long COVID.”
Ryan said the state lab’s capacity to process tests had increased from just 160 tests per day around the start of the COVID-19 crisis to an average of 150,000 tests per day now.
Despite initial struggles securing personal protective equipment, she said around 57 million medical-grade masks had been distributed in schools and an additional 4 million masks were distributed elsewhere in communities.
While Polis and his staff acknowledged the virus could ramp up again, given current immunity figures, Ryan said the state believes it is in a relatively safe position at least for the next few months.
“As a state, this does give us a breather,” she said.
Clueless response by officials. Millions of Americans (like me) are older and/or have immune compromised and vaccinating is not enough, plus each new variant does not respond as well to that first vaccination developed for alpha and maybe delta. My booster is almost 6 months old and waning. Another variant will be along shortly. People should still have to test if contact with a positive case or have symptoms and quarantine if positive test themselves. Masks should be worn in indoor public places for the millions who will be seriously hurt by contact with Covid. Also, stop the mocking of those of us who choose to wear masks in indoor public places. We are the informed ones taking care of our health, and also protecting you from any virus we might have.
All of society doesn’t deserve to conform to your neuroses just because you feel unsafe. By all means, please stay locked up in your senior community condo and never leave the place, but don’t impose your reductive solipsism on the rest of us.
The vast majority of us have been vaccinated and/or caught COVID by now, and don’t need to spend some undetermined amount of time under these restrictions because a miniscule number of people have deluded themselves in to believing we’re going to reach a zero-COVID world. It’s global, it’s endemic, and it’s not going away, so deal with it.
Don’t ever forget the harm polis and other democrat fascists have done to our children businesses and society.
Imagine how much worse it would have been under your inept yellow crime boss.
Top level clearing is needed at CDPHE, which has mismanaged the COVID response from the start. This incompetence should be addressed now while we have a little breathing space.