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Top 3: COVID remains a constant concern through 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic kept its hold in 2021, with a rollercoaster of restrictions.
Matt Maenpaa
Matt Maenpaa
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UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital Pharmacy operations manager Linda Gordon prepares the hospital's first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday morning. The health system started distributing the vaccine to health care workers this week | Photo by Kelly Tracer, UCHealth.

The COVID-19 pandemic kept its hold in 2021, with a rollercoaster of restrictions.

Early 2021 saw capacity restrictions on indoor dining continuing as the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines rolled out in phases starting in January. 

While Boulder County maintained capacity restrictions, social distancing and mask mandates in line with state decisions, early supplies of vaccines came up short. Colorado rolled out vaccines in phases, with the first doses going out to healthcare workers, government officials and at-risk populations like the elderly and immunocompromised.

Students in the St. Vrain Valley School District returned to full, in-person learning after spring break ended in March. Students attended four days a week, with one remote learning day on Fridays, a departure from earlier hybrid and asynchronous learning models.

Gov. Polis ended state mask mandates and restrictions in April, leaving future response in the hands of county and municipal governments. Boulder County lifted the majority of its restrictions in May, though still required masks in schools, childcare and indoor youth camps.

By the start of summer, vaccine rollout had fully commenced and COVID-19 cases seemed to be in decline. Longmont City Council returned to in-person meetings, restaurants continued without capacity restrictions and summer in Longmont started to look a little more normal.

By the end of summer, the COVID-19 Delta variant started to rise. With students returning to in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year and many businesses bringing employees back to the office, Boulder County reinstated the mask mandate for all indoor spaces in September. 

The Center for Disease Control, or CDC, approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for children aged 5-12 in November, making it possible for the majority of the population to receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccines.

As the year ends, Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19 continue to rise. Local testing sites have seen lengthy waits as positive COVID cases continue to rise. On Monday, the CDC shortened the recommended quarantine times for exposure to COVID-19 from 10 days down to five.