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Rollout To Begin In Colorado After FDA Authorizes Pfizer Vaccine For Emergency Use

December 11, 2020 / 7:59 PM MST / CBS Colorado

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DENVER (CBS4/AP) - Colorado will begin rolling out the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in a matter of days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the vaccine on Friday night.

VAIL, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 8: Vail Health Hospital pharmacy technician Rob Brown practices measuring the exact dosage for a mock Covid-19 vaccine in the sterile compounding room in the pharmacy on December 8, 2020 in Vail, Colorado. From one vial, once reconstituted to be administered to a patient, there are five doses of the vaccine. With the state expecting its first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine in a matter of days, the state health department ran an exercise to see how ready it is to take on such a mass vaccination campaign. The Pfizer vaccine, which is the first shot expected to gain federal approval, will be difficult for the state to distribute as it needs to be stored at sub-zero temperatures and requires two shots. The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management held a dry run or drill of receiving the vaccines in a thermal shipping container at Denver International Airport, using a courier car to take the vaccines to Vail Health Hospital and then the path the vaccines will follow once at the hospital from the pharmacy to a patient receiving the vaccine. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

"Today our nation has achieved a medical miracle," President Donald Trump said in a video posted to Twitter. "We have delivered a safe and effective vaccine in just nine months. This is one of the greatest scientific accomplishments in history."

The FDA called the vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech safe and strongly protective. But initial doses are scarce and rationed, with health workers and nursing home residents first in line.

Colorado's first shipment from Pfizer will include 46,800 doses and could arrive as soon as this weekend. The state expects the second shipment to have 95,600 doses.

VAIL, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 8: Vail Health Hospital pharmacy technician Rob Brown, left, signs the necessary paperwork to take possession of mock Covid-19 vaccines from courier driver Leo Gomez, center, as pharmacist Jessica Peterson watches over the process in the pharmacy on December 8, 2020 in Vail, Colorado. With the state expecting its first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine in a matter of days, the state health department ran an exercise to see how ready it is to take on such a mass vaccination campaign. The Pfizer vaccine, which is the first shot expected to gain federal approval, will be difficult for the state to distribute as it needs to be stored at sub-zero temperatures and requires two shots. The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management held a dry run or drill of receiving the vaccines in a thermal shipping container at Denver International Airport, using a courier car to take the vaccines to Vail Health Hospital and then the path the vaccines will follow once at the hospital from the pharmacy to a patient receiving the vaccine. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

"The ability to quickly vaccinate prioritized populations and report those doses as administered is paramount to Colorado's ability to receive future allocations of COVID-19 vaccines," stated Gov. Jared Polis in a news release on Friday.

To ensure that not one dose of the vaccine goes to waste, Colorado officials will send a letter to all the hospitals and facilities who have enrolled as Phase 1 providers to guarantee that they are prepared to administer the vaccine within 72 hours of receiving it.

Enough vaccines for the general population aren't expected until spring, and experts urge people to mask up and keep their distance during the winter.

On Friday, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported an increase in the number of people hospitalized with the virus. The number of available ICU beds across the state increased by 115 to 475.

(credit: CDPHE)

The state's positivity rate for testing continues to decrease. On Friday the daily positivity rate was 8.55% and the 7-day average positivity rate was 10.64%.

Health officials say it's possible the impact of Thanksgiving may not show up in the data until the end of this week or early next week. Another possibility, they say, is that proactive steps taken before the holiday are suppressing or decreasing the impact of holiday gatherings.

CDPHE Data as of 4 p.m. Friday:

Testing:

48,945 tests conducted on Dec. 10 with 10.64% positivity rate (7-day moving average)
8.55% daily positivity rate on Dec. 10

Hospital Data:

1,559 Patients currently hospitalized, 95% of facilities reporting (+14)
116 Patients under investigation for probable cases, not lab confirmed (+2)
215 Patients discharged/transferred in past 24 hours (-26)
29% Facilities anticipating staff shortages within next week (+0%)
1% Facilities anticipating PPE shortages within next week (+0%)
10% Facilities anticipating ICU bed shortages within next week (+1%)
49% Critical care ventilators in use (+2%)
74% of ICU Beds in use (475 available)

Case Summary:

281,673 cases (+4,678)
15,949 hospitalized (+293)
1,928,989 tested (+14,186)
3,691,463 test encounters (+48,945)
3,846 deaths among cases (+87)
3,012 deaths due to COVID-19 (+7)
2,583 outbreaks (+25)