The highly contagious Delta variant is causing an uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations in Colorado, and on Wednesday, the state reactivated crisis standards of care for hospitals.
This allows hospitals in Colorado to prioritize staff for emergencies and have the flexibility to move workers to different units. State officials stressed that this does not mean patients won't get acute emergency treatment, and people should still go to the hospital if they need medical treatment. Because of the surge in cases, more than a third of hospitals reporting to the state said in the next week, they expect to have a shortage of intensive care unit beds, and about 40 percent will be short-staffed, 9 News reports.
About 1,431 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Colorado, and 80 percent of them are unvaccinated. During the state's peak in December 2020, there were 1,800 COVID-19 patients hospitalized. To try to push the numbers down, Colorado is now letting anyone 18 and older receive a COVID-19 booster shot. "With an estimated 1 in 48 Coloradans infected, it is likely that all Coloradans can be exposed to COVID-19 where they live or work," Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment spokeswoman Jessica Bralish said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
