While the scale of the outbreak isn't known, it could have serious consequences because the country has a poor health care system and its 26 million people are believed to be mostly unvaccinated.
Vaccinations and residual immunity are among the reasons, President Biden's chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, said Tuesday, as the number of deaths drop and hospitalizations rise only slightly.
The antiviral pill is available to patients older than 12 who have tested positive for COVID and are at risk for developing a severe case of the disease.
The company says this version targets both the original coronavirus and the beta variant, and appears to provide broader and longer-lasting protection against different strains, including omicron.
The research is clear that air exchange and filtration curb the spread of COVID and other diseases, but upgrading systems is expensive, and there is little federal authority over indoor air quality.
With 60% of the state's population already covered by wastewater testing, Colorado is aiming to be a sentinel of coming contagion — not just of COVID surges, but of other types of diseases, too.
Federal health officials are convening with outside advisers April 6 to talk about a vaccine plan, whether that's another booster in the fall, an omicron shot or one that targets more than one strain.