Three state agencies — the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC), the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), announced Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 17 that agency staff members and other state employees that interact with vulnerable populations and populations living in congregate living settings will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Delta variant is increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in our state like in the rest of the country. Data shows that unvaccinated people are at a higher risk of getting the COVID-19 virus and spreading it to others.
“We have a responsibility to protect the health and safety of our staff and the incarcerated individuals in our custody to the best of our ability. Some people will say that it is a personal choice whether or not they want to get vaccinated, but it is very difficult to socially distance in congregate settings, and inmates do not have a choice regarding where they live and who they come in contact with,” said CDOC Executive Director Dean Williams. An individual who can get the vaccine and yet is avoiding it, is potentially putting the lives of the people around them at risk and individuals incarcerated at risk. Our dedicated staff have a responsibility to protect public safety and that includes protecting their loved ones, co-workers, inmates, parolees, and communities from this potentially deadly virus.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state public health officials concur that the best way to protect Coloradans is for individuals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“We are in the health care business. It is our ultimate responsibility to do everything we can to protect and provide for the wellbeing of our clients, and one another,” said CDHS Executive Director Michelle Barnes. “Our clients are in congregate care settings. This virus and its variants have hit these environments hard. It is incumbent upon us to do the right thing for our clients, staff, loved ones, and community.”
“The vaccine is the most powerful tool we have to end this pandemic, but it’s only effective when people get it. We are continuing to make the vaccine as accessible as possible, and more than three million Coloradans are already fully vaccinated,” said CDPHE Executive Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan. “By requiring the vaccine for people who work in congregate settings and with high-risk populations, we can make even more of a difference. We simply cannot allow the Delta variant to jeopardize the progress we have achieved in protecting Coloradans.”
Staff included in the mandate for CDOC and CDPHE will have until September 30 to receive the first dose of the vaccine and are required to be fully vaccinated by October 31.
CDHS staff will be on a staggered rollout by facility, with fully vaccinated dates between October 31 and November 26. Staff members can either receive their vaccine through clinics hosted by their department, or can receive their vaccine at any of the numerous public options around the state, their provider, and provide proof of that vaccination to their department.
Colorado has a digital verified vaccine card in the form of the myColorado mobile app, which empowers Coloradans to access their own information when and where they want it.
For CDOC: all CDOC employees who interface with the public, interact with inmates or parolees, or who enter into facilities as part of their job assignment will be required to receive the vaccine. CDOC will also require other state employees, contract employees, visitors, volunteers, and vendors who enter a prison facility must be vaccinated (with some accommodations made for extenuating circumstances).
For CDHS: all CDHS direct care and support staff who regularly enter CDHS facilities, including all leadership positions at CDHS and other state employees who may interact with facility staff, will be required to receive the vaccine. CDHS will also require proof of vaccination for contractors who regularly enter facilities and interact with clients. This includes but is not limited to providers of OT/PT, education providers, security personnel, and temporary staff.
For CDPHE: all CDPHE employees, temporary staff, and contractors who go in-person to health facilities to perform a job duty (e.g., long-term care facility inspectors); staff and contractors who are on-site administering or managing vaccine or testing events; staff and contractors in the Disease Control and Public Health Response Division (DCPHR), including from the State Lab and Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response; and staff and contractors who could come in face-to-face contact with moderate-to-severe immunocompromised Coloradans through the regular course of their duties, as defined by the CDC’s additional dose recommendations.
Department Progress on Vaccinations:
Employees of CDOC and CDHS have had access to receive the COVID-19 vaccine since January of 2021. The Departments have held numerous vaccine clinics in order to provide continued access to the vaccine for staff as well as inmates and clients. The Departments also provided other incentive programs to encourage vaccination.
Still, their vaccine progress is discouraging: Currently, only 58.7 percent of all DOC staff are fully vaccinated (both doses of Moderna/Pfizer or the one dose Johnson and Johnson). Within the inmate population, 64 percent are fully vaccinated and another 8 percent have received at least their first dose.
The current vaccination rate for all of CDHS direct care staff is 77 percent, and 73 percent for residents and clients.
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