Colorado moves into new COVID-19 vaccination phase next week – but some will now wait longer – The Denver Post

Coloradans aged 60 to 64 and people with two or more chronic conditions will be able to get their COVID-19 vaccines starting March 5, but essential workers in fields other than agriculture and grocery stores will have to wait longer than expected.

Gov. Jared Polis announced on Friday that the state will again shift its vaccine priorities, creating a new Phase 1B.4, which is expected to begin around March 21.

He also increased the timeline of when the general public can expect to start having access to COVID-19 vaccines, from summer to late April or early May.

“We have approached this in a way that tries to save the most lives, and which is fair, and which ends the pandemic,” Polis said at a press conference.

The delay in vaccinating essential workers is necessary due to COVID-19 vaccine supply constraints, officials said. About 1 million people will be in phase 1B.3 and 2.5 million will become eligible in phase 1B.4.

The previous plan would have allowed essential workers and people with at least two qualifying conditions to be vaccinated during phase 1B.3, which begins on March 5.

People with two chronic conditions will still be eligible, as will people aged 60 or over and frontline workers in grocery stores or in the agricultural sector.

The list of health conditions that qualify people for early vaccination includes:

• Cancer (patients who are currently receiving treatment or who have received treatment in the past month for cancer)
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD
• Diabetes mellitus (types 1 and 2)
• Down syndrome
• Specific heart diseases (heart failure, cardiomyopathies or coronary artery disease and severe valvular / congenital heart disease)
• Obesity (BMI of 30 or more)
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell anemia
• Solid organ transplant
• People with disabilities who need direct home care
• People with disabilities who prevent them from wearing masks

Healthy people aged 60 to 64 were previously in phase 2. The changes announced on Friday eliminate the old phase 2, moving the general public – which was phase 3 – to a new phase 2, now the last phase of the program. state immunization plan.

The newly created phase 1B.4 will include:

• People aged 50 and over
• Faculty and higher education staff in contact with students
• Essential frontline workers in food and restaurant services, manufacturing, the US Postal Service, mass transit and specialty transportation, public health and human services
• Heads of faith
• Primary direct care providers for people experiencing homelessness
• Essential frontline journalists
• Continuity of local government
• Continuation of operations for the state government
• Adults who received a placebo in a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial
• People aged 16 to 49 with a high-risk health problem

Previously, healthy people aged 50 to 59 were part of the general public. Polis said it was possible for the state to divide the general public by age, if there aren’t enough doses to open it to anyone who is 16 or older. For example, people in their 40s could become eligible in April or May, with young adults waiting a few more weeks, he said.

“This is the last complicated prioritization,” Polis said.

University of Colorado Denver Chancellor Michelle Marks released a statement thanking Polis for moving college professors and student staff to Phase 1B.4. Previously, it was not clear when they would be eligible.

“The sooner employees in higher education are vaccinated, the sooner we can expand the in-person learning experience of our students. This, in turn, helps boost our state’s economy and workforce, ”she said.

“You will have your turn”

The state is on track to meet the goal of vaccinating 70% of people 70 and over by Sunday and three-quarters of student staff at K-12 schools by March 5, said Polite.

The plan assumes that the Food and Drug Administration will issue an emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine this weekend, said Colorado National Guard Brigadier General Scott Sherman, who directs the state’s distribution effort. If that happens, Colorado could receive about 45,000 doses of the new vaccine next week, he said.

The state is working on setting up six mass vaccination sites, including one at Denver’s Ball Arena, in the coming weeks, Sherman said. He urged patience, as a large group will be looking for the vaccine in the coming weeks.

“You will have your turn to get vaccinated,” he says.

Workers in agriculture and grocery stores will receive their vaccines through their employers, while those eligible because of their age or medical condition should register with a health system or a nearby pharmacy, COVID-19 incident commander Scott Bookman said.

Providers will not need proof of their health or age, although people wishing to be vaccinated will need to sign a form stating that they are eligible.

Priorities that change frequently

The state has changed its categories several times since vaccine distribution began in December.

Frontline healthcare workers and nursing home residents have always been the top priority, in Phase 1A, with essential workers and people 70 and over following in Phase 1B. In early January, essential workers fell under a “dotted line” in phase 1B, behind people over 70.

The frequent changes have been especially difficult for small employers, said Lorna McLean-Thomas, program administrator for WeeCycle, which operates a diaper and formula bank that directly serves families. She said she hasn’t been able to get a clear answer on when their employees who work directly with the public can be vaccinated and that she fears someone will get sick because she could not arrange for them to be vaccinated.

“Families regularly come to pick up items from us when they are sick. If they are allowed to leave work, the needs of their babies and toddlers don’t end, ”she says.