Boulder County, CO —The Metro Denver Partnership for Health (MDPH) strongly supports the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 Action Plan and its enhanced strategies for promoting vaccination, keeping schools open, and protecting the economy. The Plan aligns with MDPH’s efforts to keep kids in school and businesses open, reduce unnecessary illness and deaths, protect our hospitals and health systems, and help communities thrive again.

MDPH has also called on Governor Jared Polis to continue his efforts to promote vaccines in Colorado by issuing a state order that requires vaccination or testing among the following key sectors of Colorado’s workforce, that may not be subject to the Biden Administration’s requirements, to promote health and safety:

• Faculty, staff, and volunteers in schools and licensed child care settings
• First responders
• Individuals licensed by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies Division of Professions and Occupations.

“Vaccination continues to be our way forward and out of this pandemic,” said Bill Burman, Bill Burman, MD, Executive Director of Denver Public Health. “COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in protecting against hospitalization and death. The FDA’s recent approval underscores this fact. We need more Coloradans to be vaccinated, especially public sector workers who are likely to engage with unvaccinated individuals or those at greater risk of infection. Colorado can take steps to build on the Biden Administration’s plan to get our region fully vaccinated.”

MDPH strongly supports statewide efforts that reinforce regional actions underway to advance health and reduce the spread of COVID-19 for all residents, including promoting vaccinations, implementing local vaccine mandates in some jurisdictions, requiring face coverings in schools, and strongly recommending (or requiring) universal face coverings while indoors during this time of substantial transmission.

“Vaccination not only protects our loved ones, keeps children safe, and protects our economy – it is how we get back to normal faster,” said Dawn Comstock, PhD, Executive Director of Jefferson County Public Health. “Federal, state, and local leaders need to act together to control COVID-19, starting with increased vaccine and testing requirements. Indoor face coverings, especially in schools, is another important step we can all take to support our health care system, schools, and economy. At the local level we can only do so much, action is needed at the state level. We asked Governor Polis to also require face coverings in all indoor school settings to support in-person learning in our communities.”

Vaccines remain very effective in protecting against severe complications of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19. Vaccinations are free (no insurance coverage required), available to anyone 12 years of age or older, and can be obtained through community pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics (https://covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine/where-you-can-get-vaccinated).

MDPH is led by six public health agencies serving the seven-county Denver metro area: Boulder County Public Health, Broomfield Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver Department of Public Health & Environment, Denver Public Health, Jefferson County Public Health, and Tri-County Health Department, serving Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties. MDPH’s work impacts nearly 3 million Coloradans — 60% of the state’s population — who live in this region. MDPH is supported and staffed by the Colorado Health Institute (CHI). More information can be found on CHI’s website at https://colo.health/MDPH.

-BoulderCountyHealth.org-