One of the leaders of Colorado’s vaccination effort COVID-19 tried to lower people’s expectations on Monday, saying that many people in the 65 to 69 age group will not get the shot for a month.
Gov. Jared Polis had said late last week that age group, plus those who work directly with preschool children up to 12 years old and child caregivers, would be eligible for the vaccine starting Feb. 8. Currently, only health professionals, first responders and people over 70 are eligible.
About 39% of the population of Colorado over 70 has been given the first chance, Brigadier General Scott Sherman of the Colorado National Guard said at Monday’s news conference. The state will continue to prioritize people over 70, he said, meaning that about half of people in the 65 to 69 age group will likely have to wait until March for their first admission.
He did not specify how the state would ensure that the oldest residents go first, and asked newly eligible people to be patient and not enroll on multiple waiting lists. That is in direct contradiction with the governor, who recently said he saw no problem getting on more than one list.
“That’s just an appointment someone else could use,” Sherman said.
If vaccination proceeds as expected, the state will surpass its goal of vaccinating at least 70% of people 70 and older by the end of February, he said.
By vaccinating the most vulnerable groups, the state can make changes to its measure and restriction button, said Dr. Eric France, chief medical officer of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The framework tries to standardize how many people a business or activity can accommodate, based on new cases in each province, hospital admissions, and the percentage of tests that return positive.
The draft proposal, released Saturday, would increase the number of cases a county can have before it is forced to pass tighter restrictions. On the other hand, the percentage of tests that come back positive would decrease to trigger more restrictions.
France said it will be possible to safely allow more business activities as health workers and the people most likely to be hospitalized are vaccinated, adding, “there are different interventions depending on where you are located . “
Overall, Colorado appears to be in a better place than most states, with the eighth lowest number of new cases compared to the US population. Hospital admissions and new cases are still falling, state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said, although not as quickly. as they did after the peak in November.
The state lab has found 13 cases of the more contagious COVID-19 variant first reported in the UK, Herlihy said. They also discovered three cases of a variant found in California, although it is not clear if that type has characteristics that make it more concerning than the original virus, she said.
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