Gov. Polis confident summer will be ‘very close to normal’
DENVER — Governor Jared Polis provided some optimism during a March 2 press conference, saying he felt confident the summer of 2021 will be “very close to normal.”
“As long as the vaccine continues to be effective … I expect the pandemic phase of [COVID-19] will be over by summer,” Polis added.
The governor announced that over 20% of the state’s adult population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. He also confirmed—after a brief drumroll—that Colorado met its goal of vaccinating at least 70% of the state’s 70+ population by Feb 28. The exact figure was 70.7%.
The announcements come just days after state health officials announced that Colorado will be receiving roughly 45,500 of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week. Polis said the goal is to use all of those doses by Sunday, March 7.
By early April, Colorado expects to receive over 400,000 vaccine doses each week, nearly doubling the current weekly allocation.
Soon after Polis finished with his press conference, President Biden announced that the U.S. will have enough vaccines for every American by the end of May.
You can watch the governor’s full remarks below.
Despite the positive news on the vaccination front, Polis urged Coloradans to continue their judicious behavior when it comes to stopping the spread of COVID-19. On March 2, Colorado recorded 776 new cases.
“Our numbers seem to be stable, but they’re stable at too high a number—one that means more Coloradans will continue to die from this terrible pandemic before it's over,” Polis said.
The governor continued: “It’s very important that Coloradans wear a mask and stay six feet apart from others. We’ve had enough misery, loss, and death, and it’s within our ability to help minimize that in the final months of the pandemic.”
As Polis was giving his press conference, news broke that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the state’s mask mandate, and repealed regulations that limited the number of guests allowed inside restaurants and businesses. To date, COVID-19 has killed more than 42,000 Texans.
Colorado is still under a statewide mandatory mask mandate, which has been in effect since July of last year. Polis renewed the mandate on Feb. 4 for 30 days; he did not say during the March 2 press conference if he plans on extending the order.
March 5, 2021, marks one year since Colorado confirmed its first case of COVID-19. Also on March 5, Coloradans ages 60 and up will be eligible for the vaccine. More information is available below.