The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization Wednesday for a third dose of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to be given to three groups — those 65 and older, those at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 and those at risk of developing “serious complications” due to “frequent institutional or occupational exposure,” likely including frontline health care workers and prisoners.
Gov. Jared Polis gave a statement on the FDA approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster for people over 65 and those at high risk for severe illness or exposure to COVID-19. This comes just hours after the FDA announced its approval.
Polis released this statement, “I’m glad the FDA appears to realize we are in a pandemic and has authorized the safe and effective Pfizer vaccine for Americans age 65 and up and people of all ages with frequent exposure to the coronavirus at their jobs. In Colorado, we are ready to administer more boosters and the FDA should keep the ball rolling and follow the science by approving additional safe and effective vaccine boosters so we can end the pandemic and protect more Coloradans.”
According to CBSNews, while the first two doses of the vaccine already have the FDA’s full approval for use in people 16 years and older, the regulator said it will now allow third shots for select portions of the American population.
Hospital Doubles Up Patients In ICU Rooms As Delta Variant Surge Threatens Northern Colorado’s Health Care System
Public health officials and hospital leaders said Wednesday the surge of COVID-19 patients from the delta variant is threatening the health care system in northern Colorado.
They want more people to get vaccinated in time to avoid another major surge in the fall.
UCHealth reported on Wednesday morning that 94 patients have COVID-19 or could be possibly infected in northern Colorado, including 36 patients who require intensive care.
Poudre Valley Hospital has already started doubling up patients in ICU rooms, doctors sharing that some of those hospitalized are as young as their 20s.
“Seeing people with COVID-19, young people, old people, struggling to breathe on ventilators is sobering to say the least,” said Tom Gonzales, the public health director for Larimer County. “Those that don’t think this is real, you’re very, very wrong.”
Gonzales toured the ICU and other parts of the hospital on Wednesday before sharing his concerns publicly about what he saw inside and the need to get more people in the county vaccinated.
While he was pleased to see the vaccine rate going up, he said to combat the delta variant, 90% of those eligible must be fully vaccinated.
He hopes they can reach that before Halloween not only to control this surge but avoid another, like one of the worst they saw last year around the same time.
