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On January 24, approximately 1,000 people ages seventy and up received the COVID-19 vaccine during a UCHealth event staged outside Coors Field — the most visible evidence yet that inoculations in the Denver area are finally ramping up after a frustratingly slow start. Meanwhile, the latest data about the novel coronavirus in Colorado shows that most metrics continue to improve, offering further indication that spikes feared in the wake of the holiday season have failed to materialize.
Here are fresh stats from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in major categories, updated at 4:30 p.m. on January 24; they’re juxtaposed with the January 17 figures from our previous COVID-19 weekly numbers roundup:
386,285 cases (up 11,304 from January 17)
21,237 hospitalized (up 550 from January 17)
64 counties (unchanged since January 17)
5,505 deaths among cases (up 126 from January 17)
4,709 deaths due to COVID-19 (up 207 from January 17)
3,402 outbreaks (up 116 from January 17)
Four major takeaways:
• The pace of new cases continues to slow. The average hike from December 13 through January 4 was 17,686 a week in Colorado, and that jumped to 19,898 on January 10. But the number slid to 13,833 new cases in the week ending January 17, and then down to 11,304 a week later.
• The same downward trajectory is seen in hospitalizations. The average count between December 13 and January 4 was 862, with a leap of 1,272 in the days leading to January 10. But new hospitalizations stood at 702 on January 17 and 550 on January 24. The latter represents more than a 50 percent decline in two weeks.
• Deaths directly attributable to COVID-19, which flared to 395 on January 17, dropped to 207 on January 24.
• New outbreaks rose from 107 on January 17 to 126 on January 24. Still, this total is a huge improvement over the weeks of 200-plus outbreaks experienced throughout the fall.
New cases of COVID-19 in Colorado have gone up and down over the previous ten days, but haven’t exceeded 2,000 since January 14. Here’s the rundown:
January 23, 2021 — 1,138 Cases
January 22, 2021 — 1,715 Cases
January 21, 2021 — 1,719 Cases
January 20, 2021 — 1,988 Cases
January 19, 2021 — 1,384 Cases
January 18, 2021 — 1,609 Cases
January 17, 2021 — 938 Cases
January 16, 2021 — 1,517 Cases
January 15, 2021 — 1,999 Cases
January 14, 2021 — 2,086 Cases
The seven-day average positivity rate, defined by the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins as “the percentage of all coronavirus tests performed that are actually positive, or: (positive tests)/(total tests) x 100 percent,” remains just under the 5 percent threshold recommended by most officials, at 4.92 percent. Moreover, outpatient syndromic COVID visits tumbled to just 3.95 percent; late last year, Colorado had periods when it was as much as five times higher.
The overall number of patients hospitalized for the disease over the past ten days has fallen over the past week, too, from around 900 per 24-hour period to 800 or lower. New hospital admissions haven’t seen quite as much improvement, remaining fairly stable rather than plummeting — but the 44 admissions on January 23 was the lowest for a single day in recent memory.
Patients Currently Hospitalized for COVID-19
January 24, 2021
737 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
696 (94 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
41 (6 percent) Persons Under Investigation
January 23, 2021
716 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
679 (95 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
37 (5 percent) Persons Under Investigation
January 22, 2021
772 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
708 (92 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
64 (8 percent Persons Under Investigation
January 21, 2021
783 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
712 (91 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
71 (9 percent) Persons Under Investigation
January 20, 2021
827 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
744 (90 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
83 (10 percent) Persons Under Investigation
January 19, 2021
786 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
727 (92 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
59 (8 percent) Persons Under Investigation
January 18, 2021
862 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
780 (90 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
82 (10 percent) Persons Under Investigation
January 17, 2021
879 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
796 (91 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
83 (9 percent) Persons Under Investigation
January 16, 2021
911 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
806 (88 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
105 (12 percent) Persons Under Investigation
January 15, 2021
891 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
818 (92 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
73 (8 percent) Persons Under Investigation
New Hospital Admissions by Admission Date
January 24, 2021
118 patients admitted to the hospital
92 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
January 23, 2021
44 patients admitted to the hospital
90 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
January 22, 2021
104 patients admitted to the hospital
98 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
January 21, 2021
71 patients admitted to the hospital
100 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
January 20, 2021
126 patients admitted to the hospital
108 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
January 19, 2021
97 patients admitted to the hospital
108 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
January 18, 2021
86 patients admitted to the hospital
111 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
January 17, 2021
101 patients admitted to the hospital
122 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
January 16, 2021
100 patients admitted to the hospital
122 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
January 15, 2021
117 patients admitted to the hospital
126 seven-day average of patients admitted to the hospital
UCHealth is planning another mass vaccination at Coors Field on January 30 and 31 (visit the system’s website or covid19.colorado.gov for updates), at which providers hope to vaccinate 10,000 people, or ten times as many as received injections on January 24. Such gatherings don’t truly address questions of vaccine equity or the existence of what Governor Jared Polis referred to as “vaccine deserts” during a January 22 press conference, since they cater to seniors with their own vehicles. But they at least indicate a boosted public-health effort that has been marked by more confusion than clarity thus far.