Colorado's highest measles immunization rate fell further

The number of Colorado parents who were vaccinated against diseases such as measles and chickenpox fell again this year, which left the state at the bottom of the national rankings for child immunization.

Governor Jared Polis said that Colorado was headed in the wrong direction, but he thinks the solution is to increase education and access, rather than eliminate exemptions not medical as did other Democratic governors.

"I am supportive of the choice," Polis said at a press conference Thursday in Beijing to reveal an administrative plan to increase the state's vaccination rate. "I think it's your body and your decision."

The governor pledged to strengthen education and access to vaccinations the same day the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment released data for the 2018-1920 school year. It showed that vaccination rates were decreasing for four of the five vaccines required to attend public schools:

• Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) dropped from 88.7% to 87.4%
• Hepatitis B increased from 92.1% to 90.8%
• Polio increased from 88.6% to 87.2%
• Varicella increased from 87.7% to 86.5%
• DTaP went from 88.7% to 90.3%

The CDC had already ranked Colorado's MMR vaccination rate among the lowest in the country and placed the overall rate of the state at the bottom of the list.

The measles rate is of particular interest because of the epidemics that have occurred in the country during the last six months. National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 1,000 reported measles cases in 28 states – the highest number since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.

"I think it's really obvious that maintaining the status quo is not working and that our children are at great risk," said Rep. Kyle Mullica, D-Northglenn.

The first-year Democrat attempted to follow in the footsteps of lawmakers in California, Washington, and New York who passed more aggressive legislation to combat epidemics in their states, including the elimination of personal immunization exemptions and nuns.

But Mullica has run into opposition from Polis, who said he would not support a bill eliminating the exemptions. The governor also did not like the rewritten version that would have required parents to contact the local health unit office to complete a standardized exemption form.

In the end, the Mullica bill failed in the Senate, but many of the ideas it contained were in the governor's executive order.

"We really see this as the third way between the government that forces people to get vaccinated, which is counterproductive, and simply allows these rates to go down, which hurts public health and will kill people." "said Polis.

The order directs Colorado's Department of Health and Funding Policy to encourage physicians to participate in the Vaccines for Children program, which covers vaccine costs. It also states that the state will study the effectiveness of local vaccination campaigns – especially those in rural communities – and will encourage parents and schools to use a standardized form for vaccine exemptions.

"It's a good first step," Mullica said. "What encourages me the most, is to see more resources devoted to the issue. Do I think that will solve the problem? I do not know."