Some school districts in the state are instituting mask mandates for students, but that conversation is not happening in Fremont County at this time.
During Tuesday's monthly Fremont County Board of Health meeting, Public Health Director Kayla Marler said the county's mitigation plan is to continue to work closely with the local school districts.
"If something like that does arise where we have to put those public health orders in place, we have a great partnership with all three of our public school districts," she said. "This will be a decision that we all make together. It's worked well so far. The FCDPHE's objective is to keep kids in the classroom as much as normal in a normal setting."
Marler specifically asked the state attorney if for some reason a public health director did issue a public health order requiring masks for a school district, and the district refused to abide by it, would the state back the department and the state attorney said, "Absolutely not," she said.
"This is a really big push of why I do not believe that this is something that would even be feasible for us because it is not enforceable," she said.
The health department has continued to work with local school districts to provide guidance.
"We have been asking CDPHE for guidance since May when it comes to our schools, knowing schools were opening in August," she said. "We have not seen the executive director for CDPHE in over a month. She has not been present in any of our meetings, we have not received any guidance. At this point, I do not know if she has decided that she is going to be a politician or if she is going to leave CDPHE."
Marler said because of the lack of leadership and guidance from the state, the local health department has created its own guidance that is tailored each day. Other countries are even requesting it.
"It's a living document, the districts have access to it," she said. "When they say something isn't working in their schools, we get together, we discuss it and we change our own guidance."
During an emergency meeting Monday, the State Board of Health approved a measure requiring Colorado health care workers in licensed facilities across the state to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October.
The state will allow facilities to create their own medical or religious exemptions for staff, Marler said.
She said health leadership within some of the metro areas is pushing for a state statute that would give local health departments authority to provide vaccine mandates.
"The stance for FCDPHE is that we are going against that," Marler said. "It is currently state statute that the only way the vaccine mandate can be put on anybody in Colorado is if it's passed by the Colorado State Board of Health. Local health departments do not have the authority to mandate vaccines at this time."
Fremont County Board of Health Chair Dwayne McFall said the board also would fight the state board of health against any such proposed action.
"On our CDPHE calls, there are several of us health directors that are very, very loud and vocal that we will not support this," Marler said.
Marla also expressed frustration with the state taking away the vaccine mobile unit, which was supposed to be in Fremont County three days this week.
"It was confirmed and ready to go," she said. "I got an email Aug. 26 stating the bus is no longer coming to Fremont County."
State officials said the bus won't be running after Sept. 30. The bus that was supposed to be in Fremont County was moved to Colorado Springs, Thornton and Aurora.
"Places where they do have vaccine providers, places where there is easy access," Marler said. "They want to move their $100 gift card incentive program and get them out. These decisions were made by CDPHE's equity team; my biggest uproar on the situation is the fact that they may get bigger numbers and utilize this bus more, however, in rural Colorado, if we only vaccinate 14 in one day, that is huge for us. That is major."
She said the bus brought the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson shots; FCDPHE only provides Moderna.
"I have asked the state to clarify if we are actually in the business to protect people's health and to provide true equity, or if we are in the business of paying people to get vaccinated," she said. "Right now, CDPHE has provided every barrier for Fremont County residents and our health department to provide and receive the vaccine."
Additionally, she had to intervene with the state on behalf of one local provider that consistently offers Pfizer vaccines, which are available for individuals 12 and older, because they were missing a piece of documentation for their audit.
"By pulling the mobile, and the barriers that that one provider is having, I have no idea how individuals will get their second dose of Pfizer," she said. "It is a continuous argument."
Marla also presented updated Fremont County COVID data during Tuesday's meeting.
As of Tuesday, the seven-day incident rate was 51. From Aug. 1 to Aug. 17, there was an average of 20 cases. Of those, 18 were of the Delta variant. Five Fremont County residents are hospitalized, of which three are at St. Thomas More and the other two are in other counties.
To date, the total death count is 70. There have been five COVID-related deaths in the last 30 days, one of whom was an offender within the Department of Corrections. The age range of the five individuals who died was from 38-77. Three were not vaccinated, one of which tested positive for the Delta variant. The other two individuals were fully vaccinated.
MAKO Medical continues to offer testing at the FCDPHE. They test from 21 to 95 people per day, but they provided tests for 113 people Monday.
"We are starting to see an increase of individuals who are coming through our line," Marler said.
COVID-19 vaccination clinics are each Thursday at the FCDPHE by appointment. For more information, or to make an appointment, call 719-276-7450.
The mobile vaccine bus has committed to being at the Royal Gorge Route Railroad on Thursday and at Estes Rockets on Sept. 7.
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