Colorado Comeback Cash vaccine drawing winner & third round of scholarship winners

DENVER — Governor Jared Polis will announce the fourth $1 million winner of Colorado’s Comeback Cash Vaccine Drawing and the third round of scholarship winners.

WHO: Governor Jared Polis
Fourth $1 million winner
Five $50,000 Scholarship Winners

WHEN: Friday, June 25, 2021 1:20pm

WHERE: Governor’s Residence at Boettcher Mansion, Carriage House 400 E. 8th Ave., Denver

Media who plan to attend in person, please RSVP to victoria.graham@state.co.us . If you are a member of the media who can’t attend in person, but would like to ask a question, please contact  victoria.graham@state.co.us to receive information on participating remotely. 

If you would like to watch the news conference remotely, please view the live-stream on the Governor’s Facebook page. 

DENVER – Governor Polis took action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Governor Polis signed an Executive Order related to the protection of tenants from eviction during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado. Under the Executive Order, tenants now have a 30-day period to cure any default for nonpayment of rent. Previously, tenants only had a ten-day cure period.

DENVER – Governor Polis took action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Governor Polis amended and extended the Executive Order pertaining to the State’s disaster declaration due to COVID-19 in Colorado. The amendment reallocates funds from the Department of Public Health and Environment to the Department of Corrections for response activities related to COVID-19. This amendment does not allocate any new emergency funds.

DENVER – Governor Polis took action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Governor Polis amended and extended the Executive Order pertaining to the State’s disaster declaration due to COVID-19 in Colorado. The amendment reallocates funds from the Department of Public Health and Environment to the Department of Corrections for response activities related to COVID-19. This amendment does not allocate any new emergency funds.

DENVER – Governor Polis took action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Governor Polis extended an Executive Order directing the Colorado Division of Insurance to enact a rule regarding rates for COVID-19 vaccine administration.  ###

Individuals can register now for vaccine appointments

DENVER – Today, as part of Governor Polis’ Vaccines for All efforts, the Governor launched the very first State Community Vaccination Site at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, and celebrated the launch of another community vaccination site at the Grand Junction Convention Center in Mesa County. These sites are being run in partnership with Centura Health and Mesa County Public Health, respectively. The Governor was joined by Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanerWerf, and Dr. Ozzie Grenardo from Centura Health, as he greeted Coloradans at the drive-through clinic, waiting to receive their vaccine. 

“Today is an important next step in our vaccine distribution efforts, and I’m thrilled that Colorado is leading the way. As our vaccine supply increases, these sites will play a vital role in rapidly getting shots into arms,” said Governor Jared Polis. “I never get tired of seeing the smiling faces of folks who are about to get their vaccine, and these community vaccination sites will help make this a reality for more Coloradans, more quickly. We’re all eager for life to get back to normal, and the vaccine is our path forward.”

In addition to the sites at the Broadmoor World Arena and the Grand Junction Convention Center, there will be four other sites opening up in the coming days in Adams, Pueblo, Larimer and Denver Counties. 

The Broadmoor World Arena is operating a drive-through clinic starting with 2,000 vaccines per day, and will be able to conduct 6,000 vaccinations per day once there is enough vaccine supply. The drive-through clinic will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Individuals who are eligible to receive the vaccine can register for an appointment here or by calling 720-263-5737. 

“By opening mass vaccine clinics, we ensure every Coloradan, regardless of race, color or ability to pay, has access to this life-saving medicine,” said Dr. Ozzie Grenardo, vice president of diversity and inclusion, Centura Health. “We believe this vaccine truly symbolizes hope as we move toward the end of the pandemic.”

In Grand Junction, the site is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Coloradans eligible to receive the vaccine can sign up here in English, or here in Spanish. All vaccines are free with no co-pay. Starting Friday, March 19, all Coloradans age 50 and older are eligible.

“Mesa County Public Health has been operating a community vaccination site since early January, and we are thrilled to partner with the State on this important expansion. This allows us to more effectively and efficiently serve residents in Mesa and surrounding counties. Mesa County already serves as a regional medical hub for counties across Western Colorado, and this expansion will ensure residents in our part of the state have access to COVID-19 vaccine as the supply grows. Expanding our distribution site is the logical next step on our path forward together, to restore what we love about Western Colorado,” said Jeff Kuhr, PhD, Executive Director, Mesa County Public Health.

The Polis-Primavera administration is partnering with providers and local communities to stand up community vaccination sites to ensure the COVID-19 vaccine is administered equitably and efficiently as vaccine eligibility expands. The six Vaccines for All community vaccination sites are expected to administer a maximum of 6,000 doses per day at each site at six days per week for a total of 36,000 doses administered each week through the program. This depends on vaccine supply provided to the state. The large vaccination sites do not replace the 900 vaccine provider efforts or the efforts of the Equity Outreach Team.

In addition to visiting the vaccination clinics, the Governor also stopped by Kinship Landing, a hotel and event space, as well as El Taco Y La Arepa, a family-owned restaurant. The Governor spoke with the owners of these establishments to learn more about their businesses and discuss how they are recovering from the pandemic. Last week, the Governor and bipartisan leaders from the Colorado General Assembly announced The Colorado Recovery Plan, which will invest roughly $700 million into helping Colorado recover faster and build back stronger. Five big goals will guide dozens of bills narrowly tailored to meet the challenge at hand, including strengthening small businesses, revitalizing infrastructure, supporting Colorado families, investing in rural Colorado, and developing the workforce.

Response & Celebrates State Vaccination Goal

DENVER- Today, Governor Jared Polis provided an update on Colorado’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the State’s efforts to vaccinate Coloradans. 

“We did it Colorado, we hit our state’s bold goal of vaccinating 70% of Coloradans aged 70 and up by the end of February. This is an important milestone for our state and has taken all of us – in every corner of our state – working together to get shots into the arms of some of our most vulnerable Coloradans,” said Governor Polis. “We’ve also made critical strides in vaccinating educators, Coloradans 65+, health care workers and first responders and the lifesaving vaccine is being made more available to more Coloradans as we await additional federal supplies.” 

Later this week the state of Colorado will start getting shots into the arms of grocery store and agriculture workers, Coloradans aged 16-59 with two and more comorbidities, and those aged 60 and up, among others who qualify for the vaccine in Phase 1B.3. 

Governor Polis also announced that yesterday Colorado placed its first order for the newly FDA-approved one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Colorado expects to receive 45,500 doses this week, which will be administered across the state. Additional doses of the J&J vaccine are not expected next week, but Colorado is planning for an increase in J&J doses starting in late March. The Biden Administration expects 5-6 million doses of the J&J vaccine to be distributed by the Spring.

Governor Polis shared an update regarding the overall federal vaccine supply. The national supply of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is increasing by 700,000 doses from 14.5 million this week to 15.2 million next week. This should mean an increase of over 11,500 doses for Colorado for about 256,880 doses next week. In mid-March, Colorado’s supply of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is expected to increase further to 16 million doses, meaning an increase of another 800,000. This should result in an additional 13,520 doses/week for Colorado for a total of about 270,400 doses the week of March 21. By the end of March, it’s expected that nationally there will be 4 million doses weekly of the J&J vaccine. For Colorado, that equals roughly 67,000 J&J doses and that level should be the minimum moving forward week after week there forward.

By the last week of March, Colorado anticipates approximately another million dose increase to 18 million doses which represents about 16,900 additional doses for Colorado. While these numbers represent the most up-to-date federal vaccine forecast, these numbers are subject to change. 

Governor Polis also reminded Coloradans to continue practicing what has kept COVID-19 case numbers low, which include social distancing, staying six feet apart from others, and mask wearing. 

View today’s press conference. 

For more information on how to sign up to receive the vaccine, please visit www.cocovidvaccine.org or call 1-877-CO VAX CO (1-877-268-2926).