Colorado Steps Up to Promote Vaccines as Federal Support Diminishes

Colorado Takes Steps to Preserve Vaccine Support Amid Federal Policy Changes

In response to recent controversial changes in federal vaccine policy, Colorado has taken decisive action to maintain its commitment to immunization science. A new law signed by Governor Jared Polis allows the state to bypass federal guidance and follow recommendations from established medical organizations when making crucial health decisions, including vaccine purchases for Medicaid recipients.

“We are insulating our state from the dysfunction coming out of Washington,” explained state Senator Kyle Mullica, the bill’s co-sponsor and a registered nurse. “We’re going to rely on science.”

Governor Polis reinforced this stance, stating, “From fighting during the pandemic for Coloradans to get vaccines as quickly as possible, to combating the Trump Administration’s barriers to getting vaccinated, we have expanded access to vaccines for Coloradans who want them.”

Colorado joins 28 other states and the District of Columbia that have implemented measures to work around new federal recommendations. These state leaders share concerns that recent changes could undermine public trust in vaccines and compromise broad immunization coverage that has historically protected communities from preventable diseases.

The federal shift began in January, when CDC advisory panelists selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed six pediatric immunizations from the universal recommendation list. This move alarmed medical professionals nationwide, prompting swift responses from states like Colorado.

Beyond legislative action, a grassroots coalition called “Colorado Chooses Vaccines” has formed to provide clear, unified information about vaccine benefits. The group brings together doctors, scientists, local leaders and concerned citizens committed to countering misinformation and maintaining public health standards.

Former Denver City Council member Carol Boigon joined the coalition to share her personal experience with polio, a disease largely eradicated in the United States thanks to widespread vaccination.

“Every summer everybody got sick,” Boigon recalled about her childhood in 1950s Detroit. “The whole block was sick and some of us got crippled, and that was just the way it was.”

At age five, Boigon contracted polio and was hospitalized for six weeks with a high fever. The virus attacked her spine, temporarily paralyzing all her limbs. While she eventually regained function in most of her body, her right arm never fully recovered.

“None of my limbs worked immediately afterwards,” she said, showing childhood photos where her weakened arm is supported by a brace.

Just a year after Boigon’s illness, the polio vaccine became widely available to the American public. As vaccination rates increased, U.S. polio cases plummeted by 85-90%, effectively ending the annual summer epidemics that had terrorized communities.

Colorado’s new law includes additional provisions to strengthen vaccine access. It codifies pharmacists’ authority to prescribe and administer vaccines independently and increases legal protections for healthcare workers who provide immunizations.

“This law will provide more clarity to guide all Coloradans, including providers who administer vaccines,” said former state lawmaker Susan Lontine, who leads Immunize Colorado and participates in the coalition.

The coalition also aims to improve outreach to underserved communities. Public relations specialist Elizabet Garcia focuses on increasing vaccination rates among Latino populations, which lag behind other demographic groups.

“A lot of time it’s this fear that they’re gonna have to pay out of pocket, that their insurance doesn’t cover it, that they might not even have insurance in general,” Garcia explained.

These initiatives come amid troubling increases in vaccine-preventable illnesses across Colorado and the nation. The state has already recorded more than a dozen measles cases in early 2026, following 36 cases in 2025 – significantly higher than previous years.

Kindergarten vaccination rates for measles in Colorado stand at 88 percent, with only a few counties reaching the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity. The state also experienced its worst flu season in recent years, with eight children dying from influenza, one from COVID-19, and another from RSV – all diseases for which vaccines are available.

While opponents of the legislation argue it interferes with parental choice and question vaccine safety, Kennedy has defended his department’s changes. “We’re not taking vaccines away from anybody. If you want to get the vaccine, you could get it,” he told CBS News earlier this year. When asked if fewer people might get flu vaccines as a result, Kennedy responded, “Well, that may be, and maybe that’s a better thing.”

For Boigon, who lived through an era when preventable diseases regularly claimed young lives, the current direction is deeply concerning.

“It’s like we’re going backwards,” she said. “It’s like we have decided we don’t want a modern life. We wanna be back in the 1950s where children are sick and dying.”