{"id":49773,"date":"2020-12-16T23:52:36","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T06:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-lawmaker-who-also-works-as-er-nurse-gets-coronavirus-vaccine\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:48:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:48:32","slug":"colorado-lawmaker-who-also-works-as-er-nurse-gets-coronavirus-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-lawmaker-who-also-works-as-er-nurse-gets-coronavirus-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado lawmaker who also works as ER nurse gets coronavirus vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"State
State Rep. Kyle Mullica, a Northglenn Democrat, recieves a dose of Pfizer\u2019s coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. Mullica is also an emergency room nurse who has cared for COVID-19 patients for months.<\/span>Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Kyle Mullica, a state representative who also works as an emergency room nurse, received his<\/p>\n

Mullica didn\u2019t receive special access to the vaccine because he\u2019s a lawmaker. He has been caring for COVID-19 patients at Presbyterian St. Luke\u2019s since the pandemic reached Colorado in March, which puts him in the first group of health care workers to receive the vaccine this week. He also traveled to Chicago to treat jail inmates there for the disease.<\/p>\n

Wednesday was the first day Presbyterian St. Luke\u2019s Medical Center was inoculating its staff. The hospital received 975 doses.<\/p>\n

Colorado is expected to receive 46,800 doses of Pfizer\u2019s vaccine this week, all of which will go to health care workers who have the most exposure to COVID-19 patients. A shipment of about 96,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine<\/a> is expected next week, state health officials said. Moderna\u2019s vaccine is widely expected to receive federal approval in the coming days.<\/p>\n

As the vaccine arrives in Colorado, state health officials are working to reassure people that it is safe and effective.<\/p>\n

Colorado needs to reach at least a 70% COVID-19 vaccination rate to achieve herd immunity and protect those who are unable or refuse to get it. A higher rate would mean better protection.<\/p>\n

Polling, however, shows many people are unwilling to get the vaccine. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has a $1 million budget to change skeptical Coloradans\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n

But Mullica is still hopeful about the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe excitement is overwhelming, to be honest with you,\u201d Mullica said. \u201cGoing through the things that we\u2019ve gone through, seeing the harm that has come to our community and to be able to actually see that light at the end of the tunnel \u2014 it\u2019s so exciting. It\u2019s been hard. It\u2019s been hard to do this. It\u2019s been hard to see people suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"State
State Rep. Kyle Mullica, a Northglenn Democrat who also works as an emergency room nurse, talks about receiving a dose of Pfizer&#x2019;s coronavirus vaccine at Presbyterian St. Luke&#x2019;s Medical Center in Denver on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.<\/span>Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Mullica has championed legislation at the Colorado Capitol to increase vaccination rates in the state, which are among the lowest in the nation. Last year, the legislature passed a measure driven by Mullica that, starting next year, will require parents who want to exempt their children from school immunization requirements to obtain the signature of a doctor, nurse or pharmacist on a standardized form.<\/p>\n

As an alternative to the signed document, parents will also be able to turn in a certificate proving they watched a state-issued online educational video about vaccines.<\/p>\n

Asked if he plans to bring more legislation around vaccines given the coronavirus pandemic, Mullica didn\u2019t rule it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely want to see how this goes,\u201d he said. \u201cMy goal is to make sure that we protect our community against vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. That\u2019s what we did with the bills that we ran the last two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mullica said he\u2019s not working on any specific policies. He noted it would be difficult to take action on vaccines outside of school immunization requirements. The COVID-19 vaccine isn\u2019t even approved for people under 16, though clinical trials are underway in kids 12 and up.<\/p>\n

But, still, he wants to do everything possible to quash coronavirus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf something\u2019s preventable, we need to do everything we can to stop the spread of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, journalist-owned news outlet exploring issues of statewide interest. Sign up for a newsletter and read more at coloradosun.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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