There are at least two possible explanations for what’s happening with hospitalizations, and we need a few more days of data to know which is right, said Beth Carlton, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health.
“I think it’s one ingredient to be used in combination with other strategies,” said Dr. Glen Mays, chairman of the Department of Health Systems, Management and Policy in the Colorado School of Public Health. “It certainly could be helpful in helping to keep rates of transmission low overall.”
While the vaccines have undoubtedly brought hope that the end of the pandemic and a return to normalcy is coming, there’s been confusion on how the distribution process will roll out locally. Some Coloradans are also still concerned about possible side effects. As Colorado moves into phase 1B of the distribution plan, we spoke to Dr. Richard Zane, chief innovation officer for UCHealth and chair of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, to understand more about how the vaccines work and when Coloradans can expect to receive them.
Dr. Jean Kutner, chief medical officer of UCHealth University at Colorado Hospital [and CU School of Medicine faculty], said she’s volunteering at a clinic hosted by a church that brings in the vaccine and helps build trust between health care workers and residents.
Colorado School of Public Health Dean Jonathan Samet and Colorado School of Public Health professor Beth Carlton discuss restaurant safety on Colorado Matters.
“University of Colorado Hospital is part of the nationwide network called the COVID-19 Prevention Network, which has sites that are available to enroll into multiple sequential vaccine studies,” said Dr. Thomas Campbell, UCHealth Chief Clinical Research Officer and an infectious disease physician at the CU School of Medicine.
Other members of the Colorado healthcare community said they are aware of the trend and tracking it closely. “It’s definitely something we’re keeping a close eye on,” said Dr. Glen Mays, chair of the Department of Health Systems, Management and Policy at the Colorado School of Public Health.
“It’s a very stigmatized population, and there are people who say, ‘They’re in prison, they must have done something terrible, and they don’t deserve a place in line,’ ” said Matthew Wynia, director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado [Anschutz Medical Campus] and a member of the state’s medical advisory group. But viewing the priorities in terms of who deserves to be inoculated, he said, “might end up prolonging the pandemic and killing more people.”
