Vaccines to be required at some indoor events across Colorado
A child receives a dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine at an event launching school vaccinations in Los Angeles
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- A new health order will require everyone be vaccinated at indoor, unseated events with more than 500 people in certain counties across Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The protocols take effect on Nov. 19 in Denver, Arapahoe, Adams, Boulder, Broomfield, and Jefferson Counties. Health officials said this is in an effort to prevent superspreader events.
CDPHE said the order also recommends that counties adopt vaccine requirements for employees in high-risk settings.
“I am grateful for the counties that are coordinating with the state to slow the spread of the virus. Large venues and local governments are part of the solution to ending the pandemic,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director, CDPHE. “We also need all Coloradans to do their part by getting vaccinated if they haven’t already; getting a booster; and following basic public health precautions like masking, staying home when sick, and handwashing.”
The new health order follows Gov. Jared Polis's plan he announced on Nov. 10 to make large event venues safer. In the Nov. 10 announcement he also outlined four additional tactics to curb the spread of COVID-19 and protect hospital capacity:
- Expanding monoclonal antibody therapy
- Expanding the number of hospital beds by 500
- Further increasing deployment of highly effective booster shots
- Providing regulatory relief to the healthcare workforce.
The state also amended public health order (21-01) to restate that Coloradans age 18+ can get a booster if it has been six months since they received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two months since they received the J&J vaccine. The state said the public health order is in line with the governor’s executive order.
You can read a summary of changes for the new public health order here.
