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COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Colorado have essentially remained stable even as cases have increased in recent weeks, perhaps reflecting that most of those most at risk of serious illness have been vaccinated.
New cases in Colorado have increased nearly 25% over the past week, with 3,184 recorded in the week ending Sunday. It was the fourth week of the increase, although growth in previous weeks was more modest, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The percentage of positive tests also increased slightly, although still below the state’s target of 5%.
New hospital admissions linked to the virus fell slightly from last week, but the total number of people receiving hospital care remained largely unchanged. As of Monday afternoon, 318 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.
Throughout the pandemic, hospitalizations tended to start increasing about a week after the onset of cases, said Beth Carlton, associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health.
It is possible that they have “decoupled” because most of the elderly have been vaccinated, although it would still be of concern to see cases increase in younger populations, she said.
“This is a ‘don’t panic, but get the shot’ moment,” she said.
About 80% of Colorado residents aged 65 and over have been fully immunized. The percentage is lower for younger age groups, with 62% of all eligible people – all people 12 and older – completing their immunization streak.
Despite the rise in cases, Colorado is not one of the country’s hot spots. The state has about seven cases per 100,000 population, while Arkansas, Missouri and Florida have more than 30 for the same population size, according to the New York Times data tracker.
Hospitalizations relative to the population of Colorado are about a fifth of what they are in Nevada, which is currently the hardest-hit state. Unlike the past few weeks, all of Colorado’s counties reported that hospitalizations were stable or declining over the past two weeks.
The cases were a different story, with substantial variation around the state. Denver had about 40 cases per 100,000 people over the past week, but 11 counties had 100 or more cases for the same population.
The counties with the most cases were:
- Moffat: 316.9 cases per 100,000 people
- Hinsdale: 244.2
- Delta: 243.8
- Blanche River: 190.3
- Mesa: 145.9
- Garfield: 141.3
- Archuleta: 135.7
- Rout: 124.7
- Las Animas: 124.2
- Alamosa: 123.6
- Mountain peak: 116.2
While most of the counties with the most cases have low vaccination rates, Summit County is an exception. It is the fourth most vaccinated county in the state, with nearly 77% of its eligible population having completed the shooting streak.
With the exception of Mesa, Routt and Alamosa counties, all counties with high case rates also had positivity rates above the state’s 5% target. The higher the percentage of positive tests, the more likely an area is not to find a significant number of cases.
The other counties with positivity rates above the target were: Clear Creek, Custer, Eagle, Gilpin, Gunnison, Huerfano, Lake, Lincoln, Ouray, Saguache, San Miguel and Weld.
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