Immunize Colorado is thrilled to welcome to the team our new executive director, Emily Bustos! Emily is a Denver native and has worked in the government and nonprofit sectors for the last 20 years. Her experience as a community development specialist and liaison to many of Denver’s underserved communities has given her the opportunity to work at the program and systemic levels of community building. Most recently, she led efforts to improve the school readiness of young children in Denver as CEO of Denver’s Early Childhood Council. Emily brings to the executive director role extensive experience in nonprofit management, advocacy, leadership, partnership building, program management, and strategic planning.

Early bird registration is now open for the 2023 Colorado Regional Immunization Summit, which will take place on June 8 (with a pre-Summit film screening of Virulent the evening of June 7) in Glenwood Springs, Colorado The Summit will provide the opportunity for those involved in immunization delivery, education, and advocacy to learn from world-renowned experts about strategies to promote immunization and enhance vaccine delivery in Colorado. 

Full Summit details are available on our website, including information on session topics, hotel accommodations, Nursing Continuing Professional Development (NCPD) credit, the film screening, and registration. 

Hospital treatment for vaccine-preventable diseases in 2020 and 2021 resulted in a combined $13 billion in healthcare charges. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled an initial drop in routine childhood immunizations, but rates continue to lag even as normalcy returns.

AURORA, Colo. – From 2020 to 2021, there were over $13 billion in healthcare charges to treat vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) like measles, flu and whooping cough in Colorado adults and children. In the two-year span, there were more than 420,000 hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits for VPDs. That is according to a report jointly released by Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s Colorado) and Immunize Colorado.

The Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPD) Report shows that in 2020 and 2021, over 327,000 Colorado adults and nearly 50,000 Colorado children were hospitalized or visited an ED with a VPD. Most adult hospitalizations were due to COVID-19, followed by influenza, varicella and pneumococcal disease; most hospitalizations in children were due to influenza, COVID-19 and pneumococcal disease. (The report acknowledges that COVID-19 vaccines were not widely available in 2020 and therefore COVID-19 was not yet considered vaccine-preventable.)

The VPD Report, prepared by researchers in the Department of Epidemiology at Children’s Colorado, examines CDC National Immunization Survey data and 2020 and 2021 Colorado Hospital Association inpatient and emergency department data to determine the health and economic burdens resulting from VPDs in Colorado. According to the report, the economic toll of VPDs for publicly insured and uninsured children is nearly double that for commercially insured children and more than double for publicly insured and uninsured adults. Hospitalizations and ED visit charges for publicly insured and uninsured Coloradans (adults and children) totaled over $5 billion in 2020 and $4 billion in 2021.

The report notes that childhood vaccination rates for routinely recommended vaccines remain low compared to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, only 71% of Colorado children born in 2018 were fully vaccinated with the CDC’s recommended 7-series of routine vaccines by age two, ranking Colorado 32^nd in the nation. This is far below the Healthy People 2020 goal of 90%. Since 2020, COVID-19 has been a top ten cause of death among children in the U.S.—despite their being at lower risk for severe disease compared to adults—and COVID-19 vaccination rates in young children remain very low.

“Pediatric hospitalizations and ED visits are typically highest in the first three years of life when children are not yet fully vaccinated and protected,” said Dr. Jessica Cataldi, the report’s main author and infectious diseases pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Colorado. “It’s critical to make sure young children are up-to-date with vaccinations.”

The report’s findings are consistent with trends in national vaccine uptake. On January 13, 2023, the CDC released data which shows at least 250,000 U.S. kindergartners are not protected against measles. The report acknowledges that measles cases are increasing worldwide. Measles is extremely contagious and children under 5 are particularly susceptible to complications from infection. Data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) show that in 2021 only 94.4% of pre-k to 12^th grade students were fully vaccinated against measles. Infants too young to be vaccinated and people with conditions for which the MMR vaccine is contraindicated rely on a 95% community immunity threshold to keep them safe.

The VPD Report also spotlights concern around human papillomavirus (HPV)-related ED visits in Colorado’s adult population. HPV infection can cause oropharyngeal, cervical and anogenital cancers. There were $80-95 million in charges per year in 2020 to 2021 to treat HPV-associated illness. Four out of five people will get HPV at some point in their lives, and the HPV vaccine can prevent more than 90% of HPV-related cancers from developing. Yet according to CDPHE, only 51% of 13-17-year olds have initiated the HPV vaccine series and only 37% have completed it. These rates are far below the Healthy People 2030 goal of 80% HPV vaccination coverage. 

While VPDs take a toll on Coloradans’ pocketbooks, the impact on individual health, public health and the healthcare system are also a major concern. “Vaccinations are critical for the wellbeing of all Coloradans throughout their lives. Under-vaccination not only impacts individual health and creates community risk for disease outbreaks, but adds additional strain on our public health and healthcare systems,” said Dr. Cataldi. “As healthcare providers, we should check immunization records for every patient at every visit to make sure those in our care are adequately protected.”

Access the full Vaccine-Preventable Diseases report.

ABOUT IMMUNIZE COLORADO

Immunize Colorado is a statewide, independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Its mission is to protect Colorado families, schools and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunize Colorado does not accept funding from vaccine manufacturers or distributors. To learn more, visit www.immunizecolorado.org and connect with Immunize Colorado on Facebook and Twitter.

ABOUT CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL COLORADO

Children’s Hospital Colorado is one of the nation’s leading and most expansive nonprofit pediatric healthcare systems with a mission to improve the health of children through patient care, education, research and advocacy. Founded in 1908 and recognized as a top 10 children’s hospital by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s Colorado has established itself as a pioneer in the discovery of innovative and groundbreaking treatments that are shaping the future of pediatric healthcare worldwide. Children’s Colorado offers a full spectrum of family-centered care at its urgent, emergency and specialty care locations throughout Colorado, including an academic medical center on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, hospitals in Colorado Springs, Highlands Ranch and Broomfield, and outreach clinics across the region. For more information, visit www.childrenscolorado.org or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.  

Children’s Hospital Colorado complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.

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In February, Immunize Colorado welcomed four new Youth Ambassadors to our team as part-time employees: Nyota Anastasie, Lauren Jose, Meron Zeleke, and Victoria Aguilar! Our Ambassadors will spend the next couple of months gaining knowledge about vaccines and communication strategies, and will be planning their own intervention project by this summer. If you would like to work with our Ambassadors, we have opportunities including speaking with them on a healthcare provider panel, planning and facilitate a vaccine-related training for them, soliciting their feedback on educational materials or programs, and more.

If you have questions about the program or would like to get involved, please contact Edric Gagui.

Immunize Colorado is hiring! We are looking for a strong leader and public health professional experienced in nonprofit management, health policy, community engagement, immunization, and program development to serve as the Executive Director and lead and grow the organization with skill, vision, authenticity, and passion.

Immunize Colorado’s AmeriCorps VISTA Program, the Colorado Immunity Corps, was launched in 2020 with the goal of increasing local public health organizations’ capacity by placing members at host sites across Colorado to develop and implement local activities which promote education and access to vaccination and primary care. In its second year (2021-22), the CO-mmunity Corps placed 7 VISTA members at 6 host sites across the state. During their year of service, members recruited 502 community volunteers, served nearly 17,000 community members through education and access activities, and increased the capacity of over 502 organizations. The VISTA program has proved hugely successful to reaching rural and mountain communities in Colorado and helping to improve vaccine confidence and access across the state.

The CO-mmunity Corps is currently recruiting members for placement in Chaffee, Garfield, Mesa, and Gunnison Counties. To learn more and apply, visit our program webpage.