More than 237,000 Colorado health workers fully vaccinated; hundreds of facilities remain out of compliance

More than 237,000 health care workers are fully vaccinated and in compliance with the state mandate, new data shows, but hundreds of facilities have yet to report their data, and officials have begun issuing citations to those organizations.

The mandate took effect Oct. 1, and facilities were required to begin reporting their workforces' uptake first that day and again by Oct. 15. But as of Oct. 14, a third of them — 794 — have yet to do so, according to data provided by the state Tuesday. All of those facilities were out of compliance with the mandate, and the state informed them of their "impending deficiencies" late last week, said Jessica Bralish, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health and Environment. 

"CDPHE is issuing citations to all facilities that failed to report," she said in an email.

When the state Board of Health passed the emergency rule requiring 100% vaccination of health care workers, officials made clear the state would hold facilities — not individual providers or workers — responsible for both tracking and ensuring uptake. Should facilities report below 100% compliance — which allows for some exemptions — they will face an escalating series of consequences, up to the state suspending or revoking their licenses, officials have said. 

Representatives from various health industries, particularly the hospital and nursing home trade groups, have lobbied the state to lower the mandate to 90%, which would be in line with flu vaccine regulations. But state officials have firmly denied that request and have said they will wait for guidance from the federal government, which has its own, yet-to-be-detailed mandate coming.

According to a list of the 794 deficient facilities that have yet to report their numbers, 283 — more than 35% — are assisted-living centers. Vaccination uptake among long-term care staffers has been a consistent concern among industry and state leaders since vaccines became available late last year. Even though they were among the first group to be eligible to receive the vaccine, those workers were consistently behind both their residents and medical providers in uptake rates.

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