He did not mention the appearance of a new, more contagious strain of COVID-19 detected by the state lab in a sample of a Colorado National Guard working at an Eastern Plains nursing home. It was the first detection of the strain in the US and it is also suspected that a second guard has been infected.
The variant, known as variant B.1.1.7, does not appear to make people sicker, but it is spreading faster than COVID-19 which has infected more than 330,000 coloradans since March. And there are likely to be more infections leading to more hospitalizations, if this variant becomes widespread as public health experts suspect.
Mark Johnson, the new president of the Colorado Medical Society and interim director of public health in Jefferson County, said he believes it is a mistake for Polis to loosen restrictions in the middle of a holiday weekend and with an as yet unknown amount of the most contagious. varying in state.
“The limited resources that local public health agencies have to respond to the COVID-19 virus and launch vaccination campaigns are continually spreading seemingly arbitrary changes to tagging metrics that are not shared with us prior to their announcements. “Johnson wrote. in a statement to CPR News. “This new surprise is not just moving goalkeepers, but it’s more like switching goals to a football net.”
Johnson said it would have been better to wait and see the case numbers after the New Year begins.
“While metrics are currently moving in the right direction, concerns about the Christmas and New Year holidays and the presence of a more infectious variant in the state leave many in local public health concerned that the reduction of the restrictions right now will lead to increased cases and the need to toughen things up again, so companies will close and increase confusion, ”Johnson said.
But Polis bases his optimism on the arrival of vaccines that provide immunity to the virus. Earlier on Wednesday, it again surprised local public health officials by extending the group of eligible 1-B vaccine recipients to everyone in Colorado over the age of 70, as well as a number of workers who were considered essential. , such as teachers, grocery store workers, transportation employees and some journalists.
State of ColoradoThe decision to add hundreds of thousands of newly eligible people to the next group to be inoculated, announced by Polis at a press conference this morning, also shocked county public health directors. They are still trying to get the first doses to front-line medical workers and, working with pharmacies, local nursing home staff and residents.
The announcement caused the phones to ring in hospitals, medical offices and public health agencies across the state, as seniors sought to know details about where and when they will be vaccinated, details that currently do not exist.
“We understand that people are excited and eager to receive the vaccine,” Yvonne Long, Garfield County’s director of public health, said in a statement. “We apologize for any confusion, as the 1B criteria have changed today. While we do not yet have enough vaccines in Garfield County to vaccinate those in the over-70s category, we are working on a plan to do so. once we are able “.
At the end of Wednesday, CDPHE issued a statement acknowledging the lack of details about expanding eligibility and asking Coloradans to call 303-389-1687 or 877-462-2911, Monday through Friday. from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. At 5 p.m. for more information on vaccine distribution “We understand that people are excited and eager to receive their vanity in the coming days.”
“Several counties plan to organize mass vaccination clinics for members of their communities,” according to the same CDPHE press release. “In the coming days and as the information runs out, we will post additional locations for vaccine distribution on the state’s website.”