Colorado leaders are sounding the alarm about rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. On Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis and health experts announced the state has the 5th highest number of COVID cases in the country.
“As of Nov. 2, today, we have 1,254 Coloradans that are currently hospitalized. That is the highest number that we’ve seen in Colorado since Dec. 20. So the highest number that we have seen so far this year,” said state epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy.
When asked why Colorado is seeing such an uptick in cases compared to many other stated, he and other state officials believe it is a direct result of those who are unvaccinated, adding that COVID-19 seeks those people out.
“I want to make sure you understand this 80% of the people hospitalized are unvaccinated. That 80% comes from about 20% of the population. So, the effect is even far greater than that,” Polis said. “The Delta variant is brutally effective at seeking out the unvaccinated.”
In addition to several public health orders issued in recent days, Polis emphasized the state’s push to make monoclonal antibody treatment more available.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment launched mobile units in Colorado Springs, Evans and Pueblo on Monday.
“I want to point out specifically Pueblo County, where really in the last week or so we have seen this pretty rapid increase or acceleration in their cases, and one of the things that we are seeing in Pueblo is an increase in cases among adults. We know that the vaccination rates there are lower than they are overall in the state, and that does concern me that there could be an increased risk of increasing hospitalizations and public housing,” Herlihy said.
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The government is set to announce mandatory vaccines for frontline NHS workers from April. It’s understood that compulsory vaccines will be announced shortly for frontline healthcare staff in England, the Guardian reported.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said last week he was “leaning towards” making the jabs compulsory for staff in England, with around 100,000 NHS workers not fully vaccinated.
It’s reported that the Department of Health and Social Care could announce mandatory jabs for frontline NHS workers as soon as Thursday.
Mr Javid has appeared to heed warnings from health leaders to postpone the move until next year as the NHS faces a difficult winter.
Professor Van-Tam said the pandemic was “not quite over”, stating that there were few months to run before a “calmer set of waters” was reached around spring.
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said he had “no plans whatsoever” to close schools again during the pandemic. He pledged to keep schools open, insisting that testing pupils for Covid-19 and vaccinating eligible children would help keep them in class.
