With an apparent focus on Denver, Colorado officials are set to begin “working to help more indoor venues implement indoor vaccine requirements or passport programs,” the state health department said Wednesday, in an effort to boost vaccinations and avoid super-spreader events.

Gov. Jared Polis told a committee of state health leaders the state would coordinate with cities and venues to institute proof of vaccination requirements for attendance “in the short-to-medium term” to blunt the spread of COVID-19. He pointed to Denver, which he said has a majority of such venues, as an early area of emphasis, and he referenced Ball Arena’s requirement as an example.

In the midst of ongoing, unprecedented pressure on the state’s health care system, Colorado can’t “afford a super-spreader event,” he said. Counties in the metro area issued a public health advisory last week, warning that hospital capacity here had fallen to below 10%. Facilities in the metro have been requesting additional staffing from the federal government, the state Department of Public Health and Environment told The Gazette on Wednesday.

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Indoor vaccine requirements are one of several strategies the state is preparing to implement in its effort to blunt the spread of COVID-19 and alleviate stressed hospitals, whose capacity statewide is tighter than it has been at any point in the pandemic. Officials say the crisis is a result of COVID-19, staffing shortages and an increased number of more routine hospital admissions. 

The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment said in a statement that it was working closely with state leaders on various ways to mitigate spread.

The agency said it “is aware that there are conversations at the state level about various mitigation strategies, including some kind of proof of vaccine requirements for large events.” But it hasn’t “had detailed conversations” with Polis or the state health department about such mandates.

Both the state and local health departments urged Denverites and Coloradans in general to continue to get vaccinated and to receive booster doses as soon as possible. 

“We hope these (vaccine requirement) policies will drive more Coloradans to get the lifesaving vaccine so they can attend the events, and cheer on the teams they love,” a spokesman for the state agency said.