Gov. Jared Polis on Friday announced the state’s plan for distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, a plan required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Vaccines are likely at least a month or more away from being available. During a Friday news conference, Polis said Pfizer hopes to pursue emergency use authorization for a vaccine in late November.

The Food and Drug Administration also issued guidelines this month requiring a two-month gap between patient trials and the distribution of a vaccine to ensure vaccine safety. Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a public statement Friday, reported by the Associated Press, that it’s possible testing might reveal by the end of October if his company’s vaccine actually protects against the coronavirus. But in Friday’s announcement, he made clear that effectiveness is only part of the equation. The vaccine also must be proven safe, Bourla indicates. And to qualify for an “emergency use authorization,” any COVID-19 vaccine must track at least half the participants in large-scale studies for two months after their second dose, the time period in which side effects are likely to appear.

Bourla estimated Pfizer’s 44,000-person study will reach that milestone in the third week of November. “We are operating at the speed of science,” he wrote in a letter posted to the company’s website.

Colorado’s vaccination distribution plan focuses on who will get the vaccine first, given that supplies be limited. “That’s why the plan is so important to understand” on how vaccine distribution will be prioritized, Polis said.

Dr. Eric France, the chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, broke down the way a vaccine trial is run.

There are two basic types of vaccines, one that uses genetic materials and another to focuses on a “spike” protein.

In the first phase, about 20 to 100 volunteers receive the vaccine, to determine the correct dosing. With the “spike” protein vaccine, it also helps figure out how much of that is needed to “get the immune system ready for its practice session,” France said.

In phase two, a larger group is tested, and that trial looks at safety and how the immune system response to the vaccine. 

The third phase is “the real show,” France said. In that trial, tens of thousands of people are tested in communities where the virus is present. The big question: does the vaccine do what it’s supposed to do, either to prevent illness or lessen the severity of the illness.

France said there are four large phase three trials underway, including the “spike” protein trial conducted by Pfizer. But it will be months before vaccines are readily available, France added.

CDPHE chief Jill Hunsaker Ryan showed how the state will prioritize vaccine distribution.

The state has some prior experience at this, Hunsaker Ryan said. That’s from 2009, when the state distributed 1.6 million vaccines for the H1N1 virus. 

Additionally, in 2019 the CDPHE charged public health departments with a goal to boost immunization rates for common childhood illnesses like measles and mumps. Hunsaker Ryan said they exceeded the statewide goal of 91%. “It validated that the system is strong and it works,” she said.

Another help: 1.1 million Coloradans have already gotten their flu shots as of mid-October, a 72% increase from the same time last year.

The state’s distribution of vaccines will first go to health care workers, hospitals and workers in nursing homes. The second group will be first responders, public health and correctional workers. Then patients in assisted living, nursing homes and long-term facilities will be vaccinated.

In the second phase, people who live in group settings, college dorms and the like will receive vaccinations, along with essential workers with direct public contact, like teachers, childcare and grocery store workers. High-risk individuals, including those 65 years and older or with pre-existing conditions will be next.

Finally, the vaccine will be made available to the general public.

The state’s plan, submitted Friday, is in response to a September 16 requirement from the CDC, as posted in an interim “playbook” for distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, when they become available. 

According to NPR, the CDC gave state immunization managers only 30 days to draft a comprehensive COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan, which are due October 16.

Polis also responded to questions on whether he would support a ban on firearms in demonstrations, a topic raised in the wake of last weekend’s killing of a protester allegedly by a security guard working under contract to the security firm Pinkerton and assigned to 9News. 

According to a 2017 report from The Trace, 36 states, including Colorado, allow firearms at demonstrations. In Denver, only those with concealed carry permits are allowed to carry guns into the city. 

But Polis strongly rejected a ban. “I’m against that,” he said. “People have a right to bear arms, to protect themselves… No one checks their rights at the door when they’re exercising free speech.”