Contrasting Colorado’s Polis & New Mexico’s MLG on COVID

Over the weekend Colorado Gov. Jared Polis made news (at least in New Mexico) when he said that he would NOT reimpose a statewide mask mandate citing New Mexico’s high COVID infection rate (despite its mandate) as a reason for not doing it.

What was lost in the coverage is the fact that Gov. Polis has ALSO made “monclonal antibody” treatment a top priority.

Antibody treatment early in the disease’s course can reduce the odds of hospitalization by about 70%, but vaccines lower the odds by about 90%. Still, if a person didn’t get vaccinated, antibody treatment is their best option, Polis said.

“We need every bed that we have in our hospitals,” he said during a news briefing.

What about monoclonal antibody treatment in New Mexico? We searched the Gov.’s website and found no statements about it in recent months. The Albuquerque Journal’s most recent article was from January of 2021. There IS information available from the Department of Health which includes information on infusion centers and who qualifies for the treatment.