COVID Vaccines Will Be Required For Major Indoor Events In Metro Denver | Coronavirus

In order to attend large indoor events in the Denver metro area, attendees will soon need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a public health order released on Sunday.

The vaccine requirement goes into effect Friday and will apply to all indoor public events of 500 or more attendees in Denver, Arapahoe, Adams, Boulder, Broomfield and Jefferson counties. The vaccine’s mandate is currently due to expire on December 31.

The order is an attempt to increase vaccinations and avoid super-spread events, the state’s health department said.

“I am grateful to the counties that are coordinating with the state to slow the spread of the virus,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the health department. “Large sites and local governments are part of the solution to ending the pandemic. “

Under the ordinance, all participants aged 12 and over must be fully vaccinated to be admitted to major events. Instead of a full vaccination, events may accept negative COVID-19 tests until December 1. Thereafter, only proof of vaccination will be accepted.

The mandate makes Colorado one of the few places in the country that requires private companies to offer services only to certain clients based on their health choices. Washington state and Los Angeles County have implemented similar vaccination mandates for major events in recent weeks.

The order comes as Colorado nears its worst COVID-19 hospitalization peak in the pandemic.

State epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy said on Wednesday Colorado could exceed hospital capacity by year-end, with the state expected to reach 2,258 hospitalizations by Jan. 1, from peak of 1,841 patients in 2020.

Currently, there are approximately 1,500 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Colorado and nearly 95% of intensive care beds are occupied. Of these patients, 81% are not vaccinated.

Gov. Jared Polis announced plans to require vaccines at major events on Wednesday. While the requirement may extend statewide, the order released Sunday only “strongly encourages” vaccination warrants for major events outside of the Denver metro area.

“The most important thing you can do is get vaccinated,” Polis said Sunday during an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation”. “Right now, if you’re vaccinated, your risk is a tenth or a twelfth of what it was at the highest peak before. … If you are not vaccinated, this is the most dangerous time for you.

The health department said the vaccine requirement for the event is part of the state’s commitment to weather the COVID-19 outbreak without implementing any closures or capacity restrictions at scale of the State, in order to minimize the economic impacts.

Polis issued an executive order on Thursday to allow all adults in Colorado to receive COVID-19 booster injections, going against federal guidelines to limit injections to those at high risk. In the order, Polis said all of Colorado was at high risk for infection.

As of Friday, 79.56% of eligible Coloradans had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, state data showed.