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The last two winters in Colorado saw COVID surges. Are there signs of a 3rd big wave in a row?

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2 years ago

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The last two winters in Colorado saw COVID surges. Are there signs of a 3rd big wave in a row?


The winter holidays, with a lot touring and mingling, are simply across the nook. Many governments, companies and abnormal of us have largely dropped precautions like carrying masks and avoiding crowded indoor settings.

“We do imagine that we are actually seeing an outlined upward development,” stated Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist. “The p.c positivity in Colorado is rising, and instances and hospitalizations in Colorado have elevated barely in the previous few weeks.”

When temperatures drop, virus charges rise

Dr. Michelle Barron, an infectious illness professional at UCHealth stated the will increase come as different respiratory bugs, like flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), are spreading extensively.

“Respiratory viral season has begun, and it is begun with a vengeance,” she stated, noting instances usually development upward because the climate cools and folks spend extra time collectively indoors. “It is what we see with the altering seasons, proper?”

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The company famous that the alphabet soup of variants seems to be rising as new strains take maintain. BA.5 stays probably the most prevalent subvariant, and BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and BF.7 are actually rising, in accordance with Herlihy. 

However to this point many Coloradans have but to get the bivalent booster, made obtainable this fall, that targets each the omicron variant and the unique pressure.  

Solely about 16 p.c of all Coloradans have gotten it thus far. 

Nearly a 3rd of these older than 65 have now obtained the brand new booster, in accordance with state information. That’s despite the fact that practically three out of each 4 COVID-19 deaths within the state has been amongst these 60 and older.

The severity of this 12 months’s surge remains to be unclear

Barron stated it is unsure whether or not this winter will rival the COVID waves of the final two years which, in three distinct peaks, hospitalized greater than 1,500 COVID-19 sufferers. 

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These waves had been additionally Colorado’s deadliest. On the peak of the primary huge surge in December  2020, practically 70 Coloradans every week had been dying from COVID-19. Practically a 12 months later, on the peak of the wave pushed by the delta variant, 40 residents every week died; two months later, because the omicron surge peaked, virtually 50 folks had been dying every week, in accordance with the dashboard.

A latest modeling report painted a hazy outlook for this coming winter.

Simulations included a “hypothetical variant with excessive immune escape,” — that means a pressure that’s immune to the vaccines, coming into Colorado in late September, and inflicting an increase in hospital demand by the tip of the 12 months. 

“The rise in hospital demand shall be steeper if the brand new variant additionally has higher virulence relative to present variants,” in accordance with the report, issued in early October by the Colorado COVID-19 Modeling Group. 

Barron stated the very best protection towards the varied viruses roaming round is getting that bivalent omicron booster vaccine shot and a flu shot, carrying a masks and washing your palms.

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“That is my plug to get everyone to go get their pictures,” she stated, noting that some folks have been ready to resolve whether or not it is value getting it. “It is time now. And if solely to guard your vacation plans, it is a great way to do it.”

However uptake has been slower than for earlier boosters. 

The state modeling report notes that bivalent boosters can stop infections and hospitalizations, however that the long run advantage of that extra dose is dependent upon booster uptake and the traits of the following variant.

Barron stated she was watching variants pop up and hoping Colorado and the world avoids a very damaging one, which “can be a nightmare when it comes to spreading shortly and being extreme.”

Potential ‘tripledemic’ as RSV instances rise

The confluence of respiratory bugs rising this fall has been referred to as a possible tripledemic.

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The state well being division final week stated it’s seeing a pointy improve and an earlier incidence in instances linked to RSV amongst kids, which is placing a pressure on pediatric hospitals. 

Officers stated 95 p.c of hospitalizations from the virus are actually amongst kids, with a fast rise in instances reported in childcare and college settings. 

“It truly is hanging how a lot RSV there may be locally,” stated Dr. Suchitra Rao, an infectious illness specialist at Kids’s Hospital Colorado in an interview on Colorado Issues.

It’s a standard false impression that RSV is a light respiratory sickness in adults, however it may end up in signs as critical as these of influenza, particularly in older adults, in accordance with the CDC.

Colorado has recorded practically 50 flu hospitalizations for the reason that begin of October, with half coming within the final week of October, in accordance with the state well being division. The company has recorded two outbreaks in long-term care or correctional services.

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Colorado

Benton’s Tedeschi commits to Colorado State

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28 mins ago

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June 29, 2024

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Benton’s Tedeschi commits to Colorado State





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Fans roast EA Sports' 'laughable' Colorado ranking in 'College Football 25'

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8 hours ago

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June 28, 2024

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Fans roast EA Sports' 'laughable' Colorado ranking in 'College Football 25'


EA Sports has released several rankings for its College Football 25 this week, teasing the July 19 release date for the much-awaited new game. When the company dropped the latest Power Rankings Friday, fans argued on social media about this team or that team’s relative ranking.

Yet fans universally seemed to agree on one ranking: Colorado is not the No. 16 team in the country.

Recall the Buffaloes started 3-0 last season under new coach Deion Sanders, and some fans had illusions of a College Football Playoff spot. But reality set in, and the Buffs dropped eight of nine to finish the season.

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That is not what anyone looks for in a potential top 20 program. The popular College Sports Only X account noted, “EA Sports really ranked Colorado the 16th best team in “College Football 25″ after going 4-8 last season & losing 8 of their last 9 games.”

EA Sports has shared details about how it wants to make the game as realistic as possible, even having CFB 25 announcers such as Chris Fowler call every conceivable scenario that might happen in game play. Fans have pointed out some slight errors in the game thus far. For example, the Texas State stadium was rendered in the game without an upper deck.

But even with Sanders coming in and energizing Colorado’s football program, rating the Buffaloes 16th is a huge stretch. And fans had plenty to say on social media.

[College Sports Only on X/Twitter]





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Nurses at Rocky Mountain VA rally for more staffing to serve Colorado veterans

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15 hours ago

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June 28, 2024

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Nurses at Rocky Mountain VA rally for more staffing to serve Colorado veterans


For Colorado ICU nurse Jordan LeBlanc, working at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center has been a rewarding experience because of his daily interaction with the veteran population.  

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CBS


“What could be greater than our veterans. They’re funny. They’re kind. They’re forgiving. They think that we know best, even when we don’t, but most of all they trust us,” said LeBlanc.

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It is that trust that nurses say they are pushing to protect, in the wake of what they say has been an ongoing hiring freeze from nationwide budget cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We have 57 open vacancies that are frontline,” said Sharda Fornnarino, who is the director of the local National Nurses United at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA. “That basically entails the ICU, med surge, the OR, some of our surgical areas as far as the outpatient surgeries, SCI and our mental health area.”

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On Thursday, nurses from the medical center rallied across the street from the building in Aurora to raise awareness about their existing staffing shortages and the challenges they have faced being able to serve the veteran population because of this shortage.

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LeBlanc says often nurses like him now have to take on a greater patient workload and sometimes work more hours to do so.

“Our ICU specifically has been staffed at less than 85% of its functional capacity,” he said. “Right now, we’re at 18 bed ICU that only 12 of the beds are open. They’ve closed six beds because of staffing levels.”

Nurses say the staffing challenges does not just affect their morale, but it can also compromise the relationship they have with each patient.

“Any veteran or any patient within our system will get less than they deserve, less than the total dignity that each individual really deserves to be provided,” he said.

VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes responded to nurses rallying across the country, saying there is no freeze on hiring nurses and they are continuing to hire nurses needed across the country. Hayes’s complete statement is as follows:

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VA’s top priority is providing the world-class care that Veterans deserve, and we are committed to making sure we have nursing staff we need to deliver the soonest and best care to Veterans.
There is no nationwide hiring freeze on VA nurses, and we are continuing to hire nurses, as needed, across the country to ensure that we can deliver world-class care to Veterans. Over the past 3 years, VA has aggressively hired nurses nationwide – increasing our nursing workforce by 14,000 nurses to a total of 122,000 nurses, the largest nursing workforce in the country and in the history of VA. VA is also retaining our great nurses, with turnover rates currently at 3.4% – far outperforming the private sector. There are also locations where we need to continue hiring nurses, and we are doing that – as demonstrated by the below hiring numbers.
Partly as a result of these hiring efforts and our great nurses, VA is currently delivering more care to more Veterans than ever before, outperforming non-VA care, and Veterans trust VA care at all-time record rates.

The VA’s office went on to share statistics on what they say have been all time high rates of veteran trust in VA care and decreasing wait times. However, Fornnarino says any hiring has been to fill strategic positions, where in reality all vacancies need to be filled.

“I haven’t seen more of those hires come to the bed side,” she said.

Nurses also worry the VA will become more privatized if staffing needs are not met.

“When we don’t have the staffing, we have these beds shut down,” said leBlanc. “That means that our veterans go to community care, and they’re not set up to provide veteran served ethical care.”

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