The United States and the world have been in a difficult battle with a nearly invisible enemy for more than two years. It—COVID-19—was first identified in China in late 2019 and quickly spread in all directions causing death and misery on every continent but the most desolate, Antarctica. To date, the world has lost more than five million souls, the United States accounting for nearly one fifth of all deaths.
But in December 2020, the fruits of Operation Warp Speed, the name given to the research project aimed at developing an effective vaccine against Covid was introduced. It remains a modern miracle that it came to market as quickly as it did and has subsequently saved lives wherever the virus has landed.
Colorado’s vaccination rates hover in the middle of the national pack with just 67 percent of the population vaccinated. In Pueblo, there’s a different story altogether. There, vaccination rates fall well below both national and state levels with only 54 percent of county residents fully vaccinated according to data supplied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state average for full vaccination is 67 percent.
Still, despite Pueblo County having only 54 percent of its residents fully vaccinated, it still leads neighboring counties. Alamosa County is only marginally behind Pueblo at a 53.8 percent vaccination rate followed by Huerfano, Custer, Fremont and Crowley counties who come in at 51.8, 46.1, 41.6 and 20.8 percent respectfully.
Among Pueblo County’s Hispanic population, vaccination rates fall well below what public health officials would like. The county health department reports that only 35 percent of Pueblo County’s Hispanic residents are fully vaccinated, getting two COVID-19 shots plus a booster. But only 40 percent of the county’s Hispanics have gotten only one shot. All tolled, more than 224,000 shots have been administered countywide, said Joseph.
Though Pueblo hospitals, unlike the northeast United States, are not seeing the crisis situation caused by the COVID-19 or its variants in 2020, concern remains. “Looking at the data,” said Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment’s Sarah Joseph, “it took months for Delta to be the main variant in Colorado. It took about two weeks for Omicron to be the main variant.”
For the present, hospitals are functioning at normal levels. But, said Randy Evetts, Director of PCDH&E, “We do not know fully what to expect in terms of hospitalizations moving forward.” He made his comments to The Pueblo Chieftain.
The Omicron variant which is marked by scratchy or sore throat symptoms along with a nasal congestion is said to be a milder version of its predecessors. But medical experts also say it spreads two to three times more rapidly as other variants. One theory is that it likely spreads when people infected with it breathe out through their nose releasing the virus.
In late December, the city detected Omicron in its wastewater, said Joseph. With that, it wasted no time going on full alert for the variant. The department immediately issued a public health advisory on December 23rd. “We’re fortunate,” said Joseph, “because the virus is detected in wastewater up to three days prior to detecting in a person though PCR testing.” To date, only one case of the new variant has been identified countywide, said Joseph. It was identified just before Christmas.
Despite being only eighth largest city in the state, Pueblo has experienced its own dramatic spike in Covid cases and deaths. In early fall of 2020, after a summer long flatline in cases, Pueblo went through a dramatic spike.
In September 2020, only 224 cases of COVID-19 were logged. Then things took on a different shade. For the next three months, cases exploded in a nearly exponential manner. In December 2020, the county tabulated more than 6,300 cases and 162 deaths.
