Youngsters underneath 5 may very well be eligible for vaccine by late February, CDPHE says

DENVER – Colorado youngsters underneath 5 years of age may very well be eligible to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine as early as Presidents’ Day, state well being officers introduced Thursday.

Scott Bookman, the state well being division’s COVID-19 incident commander, informed reporters throughout a weekly information convention that the state is making ready for vaccines to be made accessible to youngsters within the month of February, “presumably as early as Presidents’ Day,” and that Colorado well being officers are in talks with companions throughout the state to verify they order vaccine shipments as soon as they get the inexperienced gentle from the FDA and the CDC underneath an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), a course of which is predicted to occur no later than Feb. 18.

State Epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy, from her half, stated Colorado continues to see constant enchancment within the variety of instances throughout the state, with the weekly common of latest infections hovering within the 3,000s – numbers nonetheless properly above what Colorado has seen in prior epidemic waves because the begin of the pandemic.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are additionally trending “fairly properly,” she stated, with the present variety of individuals hospitalized for the illness standing at 861 as of Wednesday, Feb. 9.

“I really feel 800 Coloradans being within the hospital isn’t our perfect state for COVID-19,” Herlihy stated when requested if the state was conserving a metric for after they assume Colorado may very well be out of the water post-omicron. “I believe now we have methods to go however numbers between waves of sickness have been 200-300, so that will be a extra comfy place to get to.”

Information from the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers reveals Colorado has the eighth lowest fee throughout the nation for present weekly hospitalizations, and state information reveals the positivity fee – the metric utilized by federal, state and native public well being officers to find out simply how a lot of the virus is spreading throughout the neighborhood – is now at 10.86%, nonetheless greater than twice the quantity beneficial by well being officers to curb transmission of COVID-19.

Because the omicron wave subsides, Colorado well being officers say they’re taking a look at numerous eventualities and what the appropriate methods may be coming into the autumn and winter because the state expects excessive immunity charges to proceed over the subsequent a number of months, despite the fact that questions stay on how lengthy that reprieve will final not solely throughout Colorado however throughout the nation as an entire.

Each Herlihy and Bookman urged Coloradans to get vaccinated or boosted in the event that they haven’t already carried out so. Information from the state discovered Coloradans who’ve acquired a 3rd dose of the COVID-19 vaccine are 12 instances much less more likely to be hospitalized for the illness and 56 instances much less more likely to die from COVID-19 than unvaccinated individuals.

Colorado Division of Well being and Atmosphere (CDPHE).

At present in Colorado, solely 24% of people that’ve acquired their preliminary two photographs or their single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine and who’re eligible to get their boosters, are actually totally vaccinated however haven’t stored updated with their vaccines, which means they haven’t acquired a booster. Examine that to 35% of Coloradans who’ve been totally vaccinated (which means they acquired their preliminary two doses – or one, in the event that they selected to get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine) and in addition acquired their booster shot as soon as they have been eligible.
 
As of Thursday, the variety of unvaccinated Coloradans was 1.1 million (or 22% of the entire), per information from the state’s Immunization Data Techniques (CIIS).

The state additionally touted its free at-home testing program, saying that – thus far – greater than 2.08 million exams have been distributed to Coloradans throughout the state.

When requested about what to anticipate in faculties as many counties statewide raise the remaining of their masks mandates, Bookman responded that despite the fact that the state and lots of native municipalities are eliminating masks mandates, the state nonetheless encourages Coloradans to put on them indoors because the variety of instances remains to be at very excessive ranges.

“Native management is a vital element of the place we’re. We’ve seen important decreases of sickness throughout the state [and] we all know how necessary it’s to normalize faculties, to assist essentially the most optimum studying in-person environments,” Bookman stated. “Transferring to a spot the place masks are not mandated, the place quarantines don’t need to be carried out, transferring to a spot the place COVID-19 is handled like different communicable illnesses in our faculties is definitely the place we’re headed at this level. … Once more, we don’t know what the autumn goes to appear to be. We’ll need to be nimble and put together for any variety of issues.”

Pressed once more on the blended messaging coming from the CDPHE surrounding masks, particularly the carrying of KN95s as counties raise mandates, Bookman stated the state is aware of public well being steering has “felt at instances like a seesaw,” however reiterated the state has a variety of instruments at their disposal together with vaccines, masks, therapeutics and testing that it didn’t have a 12 months and a half in the past.

“Whereas the subsequent few months look very promising, it’s potential that we are going to come again to – at one other level – on how one can discuss what measures do we have to take. It’s seemingly that we might want to do extra doses of the vaccine,” Bookman stated in closing remarks. “Will we come to some extent the place we have to put extra masks on once more?”