Vaccinated Coloradans were 94.6% less likely to contract COVID than their unvaccinated neighbors, a leading state health official said Tuesday.

The findings were announced by state epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy at a press conference. In all, the vaccine offered roughly 93% protection for those Coloradans who received it, a figure in line with what the vaccine’s manufacturers reported during the review process. It’s further evidence, Herlihy and Gov. Jared Polis said, of the safety and efficacy of the inoculation.

Since late January, 819 Coloradans who received a vaccine later contracted the illness, and for weeks, there were no hospitalizations among that group. As of this week, more than 2.3 million residents have been inoculated.

During that same time period, Herlihy said, there were nearly 107,000 COVID cases identified among the unvaccinated population. Each week has seen dozens of new hospitalizations among that group, as well. 

The state also analyzed infections among the vaccinated vs. unvaccinated population for the week of April 4, she said. During that week, 140 cases were identified in inoculated Coloradans. That translated to roughly 1 in 7,000 vaccinated people contracting the virus. In contrast, there were than 9,300 cases among the COVID population, which amounted to one in 387 people.

“Vaccination is going to be our ticket out of the pandemic,” Herlihy said.

Polis has been pushing the safety of the vaccine since its introduction in December. But as vaccine eligibility has gradually moved into larger and larger pools, he’s stressed the need to get vaccinated, particularly among the state’s youngest residents. On Tuesday, he couched doing so as the quickest way to get “back to your normal life” and end the pandemic.

He announced that three Colorado mass vaccination sites — Pueblo’s fairgrounds, Denver’s Ball Arena and Loveland’s Ranch complex — will begin accepting walk-in, unscheduled appointments. That, he said, should make it easier for residents to get inoculated.

“My main message,” Polis said Tuesday, “is, look, if you’re in your 20s, 30s, 40s, quit putting it off and get vaccinated.”