Mayor Hancock calls for focus on getting people vaccinated

DENVER (KDVR) — Mayor Michael Hancock held a COVID-19 briefing for the first time since he returned to Denver after leaving for Thanksgiving. He said he is hoping to move on past the disappointment surrounding his travel and on to getting people vaccinated in Denver.

The mayor is focusing on winning over vaccine skeptics, warning of what it could mean for the city if enough people don’t get on board.

COVID-19 vaccinations for health care workers are underway in Denver but despite staring in the face of the illness for months, some are still worried about the injection.

“The Pfizer vaccine arrived at Denver Health yesterday at 7:20 a.m.. All vials were inspected and arrived intact, allowing for phase one vaccinations to begin today,” said Dr. Connie Price, Denver Health’s chief medical officer. “We did a survey of our employees. We have 70 percent who indicated they would be a hard yes, which is actually very high compared to national standards. Another 20 percent who are still thinking about and then 10 percent who declined for various reasons.”

Hancock stressed the importance of getting vaccinated in order to get the city back on track.

“We need to get to 70-75 percent of folks vaccinated so we can return to some normalcy by the end of the year and that’s why it’s going to be important for us to go to work and lean in and encourage people to take this vaccine and to know it’s not only about protecting yourself; it’s about protecting those you love around you every day,” Hancock said.

Though positive case numbers are falling, the health department still needs Denver’s weekly average down by around 400 cases.

Leaders say the county could move out of Level Red restrictions soon if people make safe decisions.

“We have a number of holidays in here. We have New Year’s coming up which, historically, people like to congregate and party. And we know that when there is partying when there are public health restrictions, people tend to be a little lax with them. Hopefully everybody follows our guidance, and we can get out of this threshold within the next three to four weeks. That would be my estimate,” said Bob McDonald, executive director of Denver Public Health.

Currently, counties that meet the criteria to move back to Level Orange can do so starting Friday.

McDonald also said that even though the positivity rate is down in Denver County, “we must stay the course until there’s herd immunity with the COVID-19 vaccine.”