Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet was joined by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy in a town hall Friday to discuss the state of pandemic relief negotiations in Washington and the rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months.
The town hall came as Durango and much of the country records significant increases in COVID-19 cases. Bennet and Herlihy emphasized that while vaccines are on the horizon, it will take time before the effects are realized. Until then, it is important for people to continue wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
“We know that while the vaccine is coming, it’s still going to be several months before we have a clear impact of the vaccine contributing to herd immunity and decreasing disease transmission in the state,” Herlihy said. She also emphasized the importance of continuing to follow social-distancing protocols, saying, “We need to really keep up the actions that we have in place and stay the course with where we are now.”
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday evening approved a vaccine produced by Pfizer for emergency use. A second vaccine, made by Moderna Inc., could roll out in another week. Shipments of the vaccines are expected to arrive in Colorado as early as next week, but early quantities will be limited and initial doses will primarily be directed toward front-line health care workers and high-risk populations.
Herlihy also emphasized that uncertainty remains about immunity and how long it will last. She said herd immunity has the potential to be temporary; however, the combination of immunity from previous infections and immunity from taking a vaccine will together help create an environment where enough of the population is immune to prevent continuous widespread infection.
“When we talk about this term ‘herd immunity,’” she said, “it’s really ... the percentage of the population that needs to be immune to prevent ongoing widespread disease transmission.”
Herd immunity remains months away, and case numbers will likely continue to look grim throughout the winter, which is why Bennet said he is pushing for Congress to pass another pandemic aid package.
Congress has been seeking to pass aid before the end of the year, noting no federal aid has been passed since March. Both Bennet and Herlihy warned winter would likely be a difficult time in the pandemic, so economic aid is a priority.
“The next few months are also going to be really tough on the economy,” Bennet said.
He said it is crucial Congress comes to an agreement on an aid package.
“I think that if we don’t act, our workers and families and small businesses are in for a very hard winter,” he said.
Several proposals for relief have been put together by members of both parties, but Congress has yet to fully agree on the provisions to be included in the next aid package.
Bennet said he hopes to see small-business relief, a renewal of increased unemployment benefits and funding for state and local governments as a part of the next package, among other things.
He also said he is hopeful Democrats and Republicans can come together for another aid package, as they did for the CARES Act in March. He said he was encouraged by bipartisan momentum surrounding a recent $900 billion stimulus package proposed by a group of senators, which he said he thought could be a good basis for building an agreement.
Earlier Friday, the Senate passed a stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown for a week. Next week, Bennet said, senators will be back to work finalizing a budget bill and working out an agreement for the next round of pandemic aid to support Americans until the winter is over and the vaccine starts to take effect.
John Purcell is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a student at American University in Washington, D.C.
