{"id":13431,"date":"2026-05-21T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=13431"},"modified":"2026-05-21T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T09:00:00","slug":"colorado-charts-its-own-course-on-vaccines-amid-federal-pullback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=13431","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Charts Its Own Course on Vaccines Amid Federal Pullback"},"content":{"rendered":"

In response to abrupt and politicized changes to federal vaccine policy<\/a>, concerned Coloradans have taken several steps to shore up support for vaccine science.<\/p>\n

A bill passed by the state legislature<\/a> in March then signed into law<\/a> by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis allows Colorado to further uncouple itself from federal guidance.<\/p>\n

The law allows health officials to follow the recommendations of national medical groups when making decisions such as purchasing bulk vaccines for the Medicaid program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are insulating our state from the dysfunction coming out of Washington,\u201d said Democratic state Sen. Kyle Mullica<\/a>, a co-sponsor of the bill and a registered nurse. \u201cWe\u2019re going to rely on science.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom fighting during the pandemic for Coloradans to get vaccines as quickly as possible to combating the Trump Administration\u2019s barriers to getting vaccinated, we have expanded access to vaccines for Coloradans who want them,\u201d Polis said in a statement when he signed the law.<\/p>\n

Colorado is one of at least 29 states<\/a> that, along with Washington, D.C., have taken steps to bypass the new federal recommendations amid worries that the changes could chip away at public trust in vaccines and erode broad vaccine coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Previously, Colorado, like most states, had followed federal guidance set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In January, CDC advisory panelists, selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., removed six pediatric immunizations<\/a> from the agency\u2019s universal recommendation list.<\/p>\n

Last year, doctors, scientists, local leaders, and other supporters came together to form an outreach and advocacy coalition called Colorado Chooses Vaccines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The group aims to offer a clear, unified voice on the proven benefits of vaccines and reassure residents confused by the many federal changes.<\/p>\n

Carol Boigon<\/a>, a former Denver City Council member, joined the group because she wants more people to hear her own chilling story about vaccine-preventable illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery summer everybody got sick,\u201d Boigon said, recounting her childhood in 1950s Detroit.<\/p>\n

The illness was polio, a highly contagious viral disease that attacks the nervous system<\/a>, sometimes causing partial or full paralysis.<\/p>\n

During the summer of 1953, \u201cthe whole block was sick and some of us got crippled, and that was just the way it was,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

New Group Steps Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boigon\u2019s personal history will be part of the coalition\u2019s work to educate<\/a> new generations about the dangers of infectious diseases that were once common in the U.S. but are now relatively rare.<\/p>\n

The group, which formed last September, will also compile vaccine information from medical groups and the state health department and advocate for policy proposals with the state government.<\/p>\n

Boigon shows memorabilia from her life and career. (Kevin J. Beaty\/Colorado Public Radio\/Denverite)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was in direct response to the federal threats,\u201d said another coalition member, former state lawmaker Susan Lontine<\/a>. She leads the nonprofit Immunize Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another member, public relations specialist Elizabet Garcia, wants more outreach to Hispanics, whose vaccination rates lag behind other groups\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of time it\u2019s this fear that they\u2019re going to have to pay out-of-pocket, that their insurance doesn\u2019t cover it, that they might not even have insurance in general,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Boigon was 5 when she got sick and was hospitalized for six weeks with a fever. The virus attacked her spine.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of my limbs worked immediately afterwards,\u201d Boigon said.<\/p>\n

Although she regained function in her other limbs, her right arm never fully recovered. She had to adapt, relearning everyday tasks such as reaching out to shake hands with people with her left hand.<\/p>\n

In 1955, not long after she got sick, the new polio vaccine became more widely available to the public. As vaccinations took off, U.S. cases of polio, once one of the nation\u2019s most feared diseases, dropped by an estimated 85%-90%<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Increasing Public Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n

State leaders have taken other steps to promote public health. After the Trump administration pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, several states, including Colorado, decided to join<\/a> the WHO\u2019s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network on their own.<\/p>\n

Colorado also joined a multistate lawsuit<\/a> challenging the Trump administration\u2019s changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.<\/p>\n

And the new state law has provisions besides allowing the state to diverge from federal recommendations. It codifies pharmacists\u2019 ability to prescribe and give vaccines themselves. It also increases legal protections for healthcare workers who give vaccines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis law will provide more clarity to guide all Coloradans, including providers who administer vaccines,\u201d Lontine said.<\/p>\n

But the legislation has opponents who say it would interfere with parental choice and claim vaccines might be unsafe or ineffective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to make sure we\u2019re not just getting into a big political dispute between the federal recommendations \u2014 the CDC and so forth \u2014 and different political views in Colorado here,\u201d said Republican state Sen. John Carson<\/a>, who voted against the vaccine bill.<\/p>\n

NPR contacted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about Colorado\u2019s new law. Spokesperson Emily Hilliard answered in an email: \u201cThe updated CDC childhood schedule continues to protect children against serious diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preventable Illnesses Surge<\/strong><\/p>\n

The flurry of statewide activity comes as Colorado and the nation have seen surges in illnesses such as flu<\/a> and measles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As of mid-May, Colorado had recorded 22 measles cases this year. In 2025, it registered 36 cases<\/a>, according to the state health department, far surpassing totals from previous years.<\/p>\n

Across Colorado, kindergarten vaccination rates<\/a> for measles were 88% last school year \u2014 with only a few counties achieving rates of 95%, the level needed for herd immunity, according to data published by The Washington Post<\/a> in December.<\/p>\n

This has also been Colorado\u2019s worst flu season in recent years.<\/p>\n

Vaccination rates for both flu and covid-19 have dropped slightly in Colorado, according to the state health department.<\/p>\n

Eight children in Colorado have died this season from flu<\/a>; one from covid; and one from RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus. Vaccines for all three<\/a> are available for children and recommended by the state\u2019s health department.<\/p>\n

Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has defended his decisions to overhaul the recommended schedule for childhood vaccinations.<\/p>\n

In March, a federal judge put on hold<\/a> many of the changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not taking vaccines away from anybody. If you want to get the vaccine, you could get it. It\u2019s going to be fully covered by insurance just like it was before,\u201d Kennedy told CBS News<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n

When a reporter suggested the new changes could result in fewer people getting a flu vaccine, Kennedy said: \u201cWell, that may be, and maybe that\u2019s a better thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boigon is sometimes incredulous at everything that has happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like we\u2019re going backwards,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s like we have decided we don\u2019t want a modern life; we want to be back in the 1950s, where children are sick and dying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boigon at home in Denver. (Kevin J. Beaty\/Colorado Public Radio\/Denverite)<\/p>\n

This article is from a partnership with\u00a0Colorado Public Radio<\/a> and\u00a0NPR<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/public-health\/colorado-vaccine-law-coalition-cdc-acip-infectious-disease-prevention-polio\/”>article<\/a&gt<\/a>; first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org”>KFF<\/a> Health News<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative<\/a> Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/04\/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150&quot<\/a>; style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n

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In response to abrupt and politicized changes to federal vaccine policy, concerned Coloradans have taken several steps to shore up support for vaccine science. A bill passed by the state legislature in March then signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis allows Colorado to further uncouple itself from federal guidance. The law allows health…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}