In 2015, Colorado ranked 14th among U.S. states for childhood immunizations,
with over 24 percent of children under-immunized at 36 months of age and 472
Colorado children hospitalized with vaccine-preventable diseases, resulting in
$35 million in hospital and emergency department charges.
That’s according to
an independent report released today by the Colorado Children’s Immunization
Coalition (CCIC) and Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s Colorado). The
report, Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in Colorado’s Children, also finds that in
17 Colorado counties less than 50 percent of children are up to date on routine
immunizations – well below the coverage level necessary to prevent the spread
of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Prepared annually by pediatricians and researchers from the
Department of Epidemiology at Children’s Colorado, the report provides an
analysis of the state of health of Colorado’s children based on the most recent
National Immunization Survey, Colorado Hospital Association inpatient and
emergency department data and Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment data.
The report examines vaccination rates, hospitalizations and
costs associated with vaccine-preventable disease in children. For the first
time, the report also includes emergency department visits for
vaccine-preventable diseases, county-level rates and school exemption data.
Findings show that, despite improvement, there are significant gaps in
vaccinating Colorado’s children.
To see
the full findings, visit http://jeffco.us/public-health/news/2017/new-report-shows-high-cost-of-vaccine-preventable-disease/.
Working toward a change
Local health departments in the Denver Metro area work to
increase vaccination rates in our communities as an important and life-saving
public health practice. Colorado’s current rate of children immunized with
all of the recommended vaccines remains well below the majority of U.S. states
and the national goal of 90 percent, with under-vaccination resulting in
preventable childhood illness, hospitalization and death.
Jefferson County Public Health is part of the Denver Metro
Alliance for HPV Prevention, a regional collaborative working to increase human
papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates across five counties in the Denver
metropolitan area. Other members include Denver Public Health, Tri-County
Health Department, the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition and the Adult
and Child Consortium for Health Outcomes Research and Delivery Science. The
project is funded by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s
Amendment 35 grant program to address cancer, childhood obesity, and tobacco
use and exposure in and around the Denver Metro area. For more information,
please visit HPVFreeCO.org.
Get your child vaccinated!
Jefferson County Public Health will offer low cost immunizations
to the children in the community at the Shots for Tots and Teens clinic on
Saturday, March 4, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Arvada Fire Station #2, 5250 Oak
Street.
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Orlando Lucero, 7, watches as Mountain View Fire Rescue fire-medic Micah Arnold applies a bandage to
the site of his vaccine at the Shots for Tots and Teens clinic Feb. 4, 2017 in Arvada.
Photo by Nikki Work
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