Governor Polis Provides Update on Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

Friday, November 19, 2021

Administration increasing use of monoclonal treatment, expanding hospital capacity,  partnering with municipalities to make indoor events safer, availability of home tests, & is full-steam ahead on boosters

CENTENNIAL - Governor Polis provided an update on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic today from Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Centennial, home to Colorado’s COVID response team, made up of our state’s top public health, public safety, and emergency response leaders.  

During the early days of the pandemic, Gov. Polis and his team provided numerous updates to Coloradans from the EOC when there was a lack of leadership from the federal government and Colorado was forced to compete with other states for critical testing supplies, PPE for our frontline health care workers and ventilators to save as many lives as possible.

Today, Gov. Polis honored the 9,000 Coloradans who have been lost to the pandemic and noted that while that ranks the state 9th from the bottom of the 50 states in per capita deaths, that it is hardly a consolation to the friends and family left behind and continued to urge people to get vaccinated.

Gov. Polis then acknowledged that as the administration battled in 2020 for testing kits, swabs, reagent to run the tests, masks, gowns, and equipment that at that time a lifesaving vaccine was something we could only dream of. Today, more than 81% of eligible adults and nearly 37% of 5-17-year-olds have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

“To find out where to get your booster visit covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine to find a provider near you or call 1-877-268-2926. We are still in a pandemic, we refuse to wait idly until this wave ends and Coloradans can do their part to lessen its impact on our communities and our health care system by getting vaccinated, boosted, tested, and wearing a mask in crowded places,” said Gov. Polis. “We are working to lessen the pandemic’s impact on Coloradans and our health care system. We’re scaling up monoclonal treatment, partnering with municipalities to make indoor events safer with vaccine requirements or proof of a negative test, increasing hospital capacity, and are laser-focused on getting more boosters and vaccines into arms.”

1 out of every 38 unvaccinated Coloradans is infected with COVID, and 1 out of every 62 Coloradans is infected with COVID-19. As of today, 82% of COVID-related hospitalizations are among the roughly 20% of the Colorado population that are unvaccinated. The Governor continued to urge Coloradans to get vaccinated and the booster to protect themselves.

To expand the use of boosters and get more Coloradans the protection they deserve, last week Gov. Polis signed an executive order declaring Colorado as high risk, making every adult who is six months past their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or two months past their Johnson & Johnson, eligible to get boosted. This week, Gov. Polis personally spoke with several major pharmacy chains and CDPHE sent a letter to providers in order to help break down any potential barriers to receiving the booster. 

States and municipalities have also followed Colorado’s lead in the last week, including New Mexico, Arizona, West Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City, and today, FDA authorized booster doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for all adults.

Gov. Polis described today how the administration has been working to:

  • Increase the use of monoclonal antibody treatment by deploying mobile busses and bolstering the provider network 

  • Partnering with municipalities in the Metro Area to make indoor events safer with vaccine requirements or proof of a negative test 

  • Expanding hospital capacity across the state and are working to support staffing increases to accompany those beds

  • Getting boosters into the arms of every eligible Coloradan. To date, 31% of eligible Coloradans have received boosters 

Gov. Polis announced that in order to break down barriers for Coloradans who could benefit from monoclonal treatment, the administration is issuing a standing order which allows Coloradans who qualify to refer themselves for treatment. Previously, to receive monoclonal antibody treatment, you needed a referral from a doctor, but this treatment is too critical to our response to leave burdensome restrictions in place. 

Starting this coming Monday, any Coloradan with a positive test can also call the state at 1-800-268-2926 to determine whether they are eligible for monoclonal treatment and sign up for an appointment if one is available.

To learn more about monoclonal antibody treatment and to get more information about if you qualify and where you can get it, visit our website at covid19.colorado.gov/monoclonal

The administration is partnering with the Colorado Rockies to host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Coors Field on Saturday, Nov. 20 where people age 5 and up can get vaccinated, meet Dinger, and receive promotional giveaways.

Gov. Polis also discussed the importance of testing and the availability of free at-home testing with the holidays approaching. To find a free, quick, and easy testing site near you, visit www.covid19.colorado.gov/testing. 

 

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