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From battling mosquitoes to advocating for preventive health and gun safety, Jeff Zayach has tackled nearly every public health issue in his 31 years with Boulder County Public Health.
Nothing prepared him, however, for the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic that struck the country, state and Boulder County in March 2020. By then, Zayach had been executive director of the agency since 2008.
On Wednesday, March 31, Zayach retired from his post, shaken by a pandemic that led him and Boulder County residents into grim, uncharted territory that claimed 250 lives, according to the county COVID webpage.
“We lost multiple people because of this virus and it left a deep scar on all of us that will last forever,” Zayach said.
Businesses were also shuttered due to Stay-At-Home orders which kept residents home and often isolated from friends and family. Zayach said he understands the frustration of business owners and residents with shifting edicts and orders, all trying to keep up with the slippery nature of the disease.
“That’s what is so challenging … this is a novel virus and we had to deal with changing situations and changing information, and we didn’t know how this virus would impact people,” Zayach said. “I can understand the public is confused with hearing one message at one point and hearing another at another point. It makes us have to change strategies in a very short period of time for a pretty large population.”
“We still don’t know everything about this virus,” he said. “But we do anticipate learning more things in the future.”
He said he is heartened by the county’s overall response to the pandemic, which featured close collaboration between municipalities, including Longmont, to get the latest COVD information out and get testing and vaccinations to the public.
Zayach said he did not want to issue edicts about how to handle the virus. “This was something we needed to work closely with our community partners. That really was the only way to handle a situation like this.”
“We wanted to hear from our community leaders, and hear from them, what they needed,” Zayach said.
One of the first responses to the pandemic was set up twice-weekly meetings between county health officials, city managers and elected officials to swap important details about the virus, Zayach said. He also met frequently via video with the Longmont City Council to impart updates and hear their concerns.
Longmont City Manager Harold Dominguez said in an email that he learned to trust Zayach and the information he has given Longmont about the virus.
“What I appreciate most about Jeff is his honesty and integrity,” Dominguez said. “He has the keen ability to cut through the noise and provide the most accurate information to a manager like me and to the general public. Without a community leader like Jeff, we don’t manage the pandemic as quickly and efficiently as we have for the past year.”
Zayach broke down data and provided honest and accurate advice to community decision-makers throughout the pandemic, Dominguez said.
“His insights and commitment to public health and safety will be missed by Boulder County and by Longmont residents,” he said. “It has been a pleasure working with Jeff and I am fortunate to call him a friend.”
A persistent problem both Zayach and Longmont officials face has been reaching populations that don’t have access to regular medical care or information, Zayach said. “That is something we really wanted to concentrate on and thanks to the work of Harold and his staff we are starting to make inroads.”
Boulder County Public Health is using cultural brokers — members of the community trusted to share relevant information — to set up two community COVID clinics in March with two more scheduled for this month for underserved communities.
The first is scheduled for Friday, April 2, at the Boulder County Fairgrounds for people with disabilities. The clinic is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, according to a Boulder County news release.
“It has been an important partnership (with BCPH),” Carmen Ramirez, Longmont’s community and neighborhood resources manager, told The Leader. “I can’t imagine what we would be dealing with if we didn’t have in place this army of cultural brokers and ambassadors to help us with getting out the information and connecting people with resources.”
Zayach, who began his career as a mosquito control technician in 1990, also began meeting with business leaders to help them navigate ways to keep their doors open during the pandemic.
“We learned quickly we needed to have better communication with our businesses,” Zayach said. “We needed to adjust to best help them.”
An important tool is the 5-Star certification program, which allows businesses — including restaurants — to operate with fewer restraints, Zayach said.
Boulder County is at the yellow level on the state’s COVID dial, a status that allows retailers, gyms, and fitness centers, personal service businesses, offices, indoor and outdoor events venues and non-critical manufacturers to operate at 50% capacity.
Restaurants also can operate at 50% capacity for indoor dining, with a cap of 150 people based on square footage.
With a 5-Star certification, businesses can move to the blue level which allows fewer restrictions to operate. At least 60 businesses have received 5-Star status as of April 1, according to Boulder County Chamber 5-Star certification website.
Zayach said as COVID vaccines become more available, Boulder County COVID numbers will continue to improve. “It is absolutely critical to reach herd immunity,” he said. “To get to a point where we can get back to normal.”
So far, over 107,000 Boulder County residents have received at least one vaccine and at least 90 percent of residents 70 years of age and up have received one shot, he said.
The current seven-day average positivity rate for Boulder County is at 5.3%, according to the Boulder County COVID web page.
As COVID persists, Zayach has not taken his eye off gun violence in Boulder County. Earlier this week, Zayach produced a joint statement with the Boulder County Commissioners, backing legislation that covered the safe storage of firearms; reporting of lost or stolen firearms; increase mental health services, a ban on assault-style weapons; and the ability of local governments to enact stronger firearms safety ordinances.
“Gun violence is absolutely a public health issue,” Zayach said. “We can’t back away from that.”
Zayach said he will start his retirement by taking some time off from COVID worries. “It’s been an incredibly tough year, a highly stressful situation,” Zayach said. “It will be nice to take a breather, maybe get some exercise.”
“I just want to take a step back for a while.”
