March is the Snowiest Month of the Year in Colorado – Be Snow Safe

Though March 20 marks the first day of Spring, March is also the snowiest month of the year in Colorado. On average, according to the National Weather Service, the state gets more than 10 inches per month, and in some cases, has gotten more than 30.

That means it’s more important than ever to Be Snow Safe when walking outdoors, traveling, enjoying winter sports or even going about your day-to-day life.

Here are some helpful tips from the Centers for Disease Control for the cold, snowy days to come: 

• “Wear appropriate outdoor clothing: wear a tightly woven, preferably wind-resistant coat or jacket; inner layers of light, warm clothing; mittens; hats; scarves; and waterproof boots.
• Sprinkle cat litter or sand on icy patches.
• Learn safety precautions to follow when outdoors.
• Work slowly when doing outside chores.
• Take a buddy and an emergency kit when you are participating in outdoor recreation.
• Carry a cell phone.
• Above all, be ready to check on family and neighbors who are especially at risk from cold weather hazards: young children, older adults, and the chronically ill. If you have pets, bring them inside. If you cannot bring them inside, provide adequate, warm shelter and unfrozen water to drink.”

Prevent Insect-Borne Disease While Traveling

Traveling for Spring Break? Be sure to protect yourself from insects and insect-borne disease, like Zika virus.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, areas in the southern U.S., Mexico, South and Central America all have reported active Zika virus transmission. Zika can be spread through mosquito bites, from a pregnant woman to her fetus, sexually or through a blood transfusion.

Take the following steps recommended by the CDC to protect yourself from Zika when traveling! 

• “Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants
• Treat clothing and gear with insect repellent
• Use insect repellent and always follow label instructions
• When used properly, most insect repellent is safe on pregnant and breastfeeding women. 
• Do not use insect repellent on babies younger than 2 months old.
• Do not use products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol on children younger than 3. 
• Stay in places with air conditioning and window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside.
• Take steps to control mosquitoes inside and outside your home.
• Mosquito netting can be used to cover babies younger than 2 months old in carriers, strollers, or cribs.
• Sleep under a mosquito bed net if air conditioned or screened rooms are not available or if sleeping outdoors.
• Prevent sexual transmission of Zika by using condoms or not having sex.”

For more information on animal- and insect-borne diseases, visit http://jeffco.us/public-health/healthy-environments/animal-borne-disease/.

Flu activity in Colorado still on the rise

Flu activity in Colorado continued to increase throughout February.

So far this flu season, which started Oct. 2, 2016, and as of the most recent available data on February 18, 1,797 people in Colorado have been hospitalized with confirmed cases of influenza. Jefferson County accounts for 179 of the state’s 1,797 lab-confirmed flu cases this year, about one-tenth.  

Be a Flu Fighter

Flu season continues through May — it is not too late to protect you and your loved ones from the flu. JCPH offers regular immunization clinics at 645 Parfet Street in Lakewood. Please call 303-239-7078 and make an appointment today.

For the latest information on influenza in Colorado, go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/influenza-data.

A sticker sits on the table where children received their vaccines February 4, 2017 

at the Shots For Tots and Teens clinic in Arvada.

Photo by Nikki Work

New Report Shows High Cost of Vaccine-Preventable Disease

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. 

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

To learn more about this program, call (303) 239-7078 or visit www.shotsfortotsandteens.org.

Mumps Cases on the Rise in Colorado

Nearly twice as many cases of mumps have been reported in Colorado so far in 2017 as in all of 2016, according to the Colorado Department of Health. As of February 9, 2017, 27 cases of mumps had been diagnosed, and that number is expected to grow. 

On February 9, the state health department sent a letter to school nurses statewide to send home to inform families about the mumps outbreak and encourage vaccination. 

In 2016, 17 cases of mumps were reported statewide - a number that far outpaced the Colorado five-year average of 5.6 cases per year. And, even though 2017 has already eclipsed last year, 2016 was a bad year for mumps across the country. In the U.S., there were 5,311 cases of mumps. Eight states reported more than 100 cases.

“Because of the high numbers of mumps cases across the country, it is especially important to make sure your children are vaccinated,” said Rachel Herlihy, director of the Disease Control and Environmental Epidemiology Division at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in a news release from the CDPHE. “Both adults and children should make sure they are up to date on their mumps vaccine.”

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

The MMR vaccine, as well as many other immunizations, are offered Monday-Friday at the Jefferson County Public Health Clinic, 645 Parfet Street in Lakewood. To learn more about JCPH clinic services, call (303) 239-7078 or visit http://jeffco.us/public-health/healthy-families/immunizations/.


Low cost immunizations will also be offered 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. To learn more about this program, call (303) 239-7078 or visit www.shotsfortotsandteens.org.



According to a new survey about 80 percent of Americans support mandatory measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines for children in public schools, MedlinePlus reported.

A sticker sits on the table where children received their vaccines February 4, 2017
at the Shots For Tots and Teens clinic in Arvada.
Photo by Nikki Work

But the support varies by age group, education level and even race. For parents of young children, only about 50 percent believe the risk of the vaccine is low. For adults without children under 18, that number jumps to about 70 percent.

Wealthier Americans and those with higher education levels also support vaccines more. Black Americans, like parents of younger children, showed doubts about its safety.

The public health benefit of vaccines depends on very high immunization rates, said study lead Cary Funk. That’s why it’s important to know who does and doesn’t have reservations about these vaccines, so more information can reach these groups.

So far in 2017, 14 cases of mumps have been reported in Colorado, a number that’s expected to rise as the investigation of the outbreak continues. That’s nearly as high as the 17 total cases reported in 2016. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the five-year average of mumps cases in the state is 5.6 cases per year.

APHA to hold conference on climate change and health

Climate change has been identified as a top concern for public health, and on January 26, an announcement from the American Public Health Association underlined its importance.

In December, the Centers for Disease Control cancelled the national Climate and Health conference without explanation. But several organizers, including the American Public Health Association and former Vice President Al Gore, announced on January 26 that the conference will go on. Instead of taking place over a three-day span at the CDC, it will occur Feb. 16 at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Today we face a challenging political climate, but climate shouldn’t be a political issue,” said Gore, Climate Reality Founder and Chairman, in an APHA news release. “Health professionals urgently need the very best science in order to protect the public, and climate science has increasingly critical implications for their day-to-day work. With more and more hot days, which exacerbate the proliferation of the Zika virus and other public health threats, we cannot afford to waste any time.”

Last year, 2016, was the hottest year on record, and it was the third in a row to hold that title. Sixteen of the 17 hottest years have occurred since 2001, according to the release. The purpose of the Climate and Health Meeting is to bring public health and climate industry officials together to discuss what hotter years mean for a variety of health topics, from the infectious Zika virus to asthma and air quality to extreme weather events.

“Climate change is already affecting our health,” said Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of APHA, in the release. “This meeting fills an important void and will strengthen the public health response to this growing threat.”

To learn more about the event, go to https://www.climaterealityproject.org/health.

APHA compiles resource for ACA repeal info

The American Public Health Association (APHA) recently compiled a resource for those looking for more information about what a repeal of the Affordable Care Act could mean for American’s health.

The information is presented on a Storify, a social media format which compiles links, Facebook and Twitter posts, videos and more to create an interactive display with sources from all over the web.

To see the Storify and learn more, go to https://storify.com/APHA/aca-repeal.