While Colorado officials continue to plan for an increase in vaccinations following the expected emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, they also carefully monitor the COVID-19 variant in the state.
Colorado saw a plateau in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations after falling for about three months since a peak in November. The state reported that the positivity rate was just over 3% on Tuesday. The hospitalization rate also continues to drop across the state – on Wednesday, 376 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, said medical director Dr. Eric France of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
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As CDPHE analyzes these figures, it is also thinking about the COVID-19 variants, he said.
Some research shows that the variant may become the dominant strain in March and April.
As of Thursday, about one in 200 coloradanos has COVID-19 and only a very small percentage of those tested positive for the variant, France said.
“So there may be a sudden increase in spring in April if that variant starts to grow,” he said. “We didn’t see that at the moment. Our hope is that the good behaviors and practices of all of us – to stay away, wear masks – will keep that variant number low for our state. “
These practices have also helped to keep flu numbers low. The flu season has been significantly milder than in previous years and flu-related hospitalizations have been low, France said. Flu vaccination rates have also increased by 13%, he said. This reduced rate of influenza means that there is a low volume of the disease in clinics and hospitals, so there may be more focus on individuals with COVID-19.
CDPHE update on vaccine launch – February 25, 2021
As of Thursday morning, the state said it is 95% on track for its goal of vaccinating 70% of people aged 70 and over by the end of the month, said Kate McIntire, deputy director of the State Vaccine Task Force . She said 1,320,517 doses of the vaccines were administered in Colorado, including the first and second doses. Of these, 883,137 were the first doses and 437,380 were the second doses for Phases 1A, 1B.1 and 1B.2.
The state is now looking at Phase 1B.3, which includes essential workers in services such as agriculture, manufacturing, the US postal service, public transportation, specialized transportation, grocery, public health and restaurants. Click here to see the full list and an outline of the other phases.
For several weeks, CDPHE said it was the plan was to start Phase 1B.3 in early March and that remains the goal, said McIntire.
She explained that they do not have an exact deadline for the start of this next phase, but will announce it as soon as they can. That could change based on the federal government’s state supply of vaccines, which is expected to increase next week.
McIntire said they are preparing for a variety of scenarios as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine approaches distribution and administration across the country. A FDA report released on Wednesday indicates that Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, setting the stage for its potential approval and distribution in the coming days.
The federal government said Colorado should expect 45,000 doses of this vaccine. The allocated doses will be delivered to suppliers, as will the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is likely to arrive in Colorado sometime next week in 10 days, France said.
While the state hopes to expand vaccines, Brigadier General Scott Sherman said they are “signing a contract with some terms that will focus on not taking it home, especially at age 65 or older to vaccinate them.”
That will happen in the coming weeks, he said, once the contract is finalized.
CDPHE immunization section data analyst Rachel Severson also announced a new county-level data section on the state’s COVID-19 panel. Click here to explore the new feature, which can be found on the right side of the screen under the “County level data” tab.