Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have increased statewide, mirroring a rise in transmission that is taking place across the United States as immunity wanes and new variants circulate, according to public health officials.
COVID-19 cases in Colorado have gradually increased since June, but now the uptick in transmission is coming as children are heading back to school and as the cold and flu season is approaching, both of which could further spread the virus, they said.
Summer is soon coming to an end, and health officials are planning ahead for flu season. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made its annual flu shot recommendations for health professionals ahead of flu season.
They again underscore the importance of flu shots: Preliminary estimates show that last season, people vaccinated against the flu were about 40% to 70% less likely to be hospitalized because of flu illness or related complications, according to the CDC.
The public agency maintains the effectiveness of flu vaccines depends, in part, on the match between the vaccine viruses and circulating viruses.
Here’s what to know about this year’s recommendations:
The number of kindergarteners in Colorado entering school this month who have completed their childhood immunizations fell to 88.4%, tying the lowest point in the past six years.
The measles, mumps, and rubella shot has even lower compliance.
“About 86.8 percent of kindergartners were vaccinated this latest year and it’s down about 2 percent,” said Emily Bustos, Executive Director of Immunize Colorado.
“So, we are seeing specifically that one having more decrease.”
All three diseases covered by the vaccine are highly contagious.
Written by Leann Springer, communications manager at Immunize Colorado
In my role as communications manager at Immunize Colorado, I’ve learned a lot about vaccines. Routine childhood vaccines play an essential role in the health of children and our entire community. Diseases once common are now rare – that’s thanks to vaccines! We are lucky to live in a time when our children have access to one of the safest health interventions available. The following is a personal story about why vaccines are important to me and my family.
In 2004, my husband and I were expecting twin boys. While we were elated, we knew twins were going to be a challenge. Adding to the challenge, we had a nearly two-year-old toddler. That winter, I was put on partial bed rest. This is not uncommon. Moms of multiples are at greater risk for pregnancy complications. Things got more serious in April when I attended a routine doctor appointment. He took one look at me and told me, “Do not pass go. Go immediately to the hospital.” I was preeclamptic. The pregnancy had become dangerous for both me and the babies. Having preeclampsia, if untreated, can lead to shock or death. After five days in the hospital, I required an emergency C-section. We were lucky! All of us made it through the pregnancy. (My husband would like for me to state that he too made it through the pregnancy. It was a scary time!) That said, the boys were six weeks premature. They were required to stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or NICU.
Our stay at the hospital was not a day or two like a typical birth. It was weeks. My parents traveled across the state to help with the care of our oldest son. The three of them went back and forth between our home in rural Garfield County to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction. As an active toddler, keeping our oldest off the hospital floor was hard. Imagine all the germs! Inevitably, he became ill and was diagnosed with rotavirus just a few days after the twins’ birth. I’ll omit all the gross details, but rotavirus is simply not fun. He was sick, so sick, and had to be monitored for dehydration! Unfortunately, this was nearly two years before the rotavirus vaccine became available. My husband and I also got sick. We had to quarantine for several days to keep both of our boys and every other infant in the NICU safe. Not seeing them during that time was awful! Diseases like rotavirus can be deadly to infants, particularly preterm infants and those born with other health complications that need NICU care.
It was a difficult time even after we recovered from rotavirus and were able to see our boys again. There were a myriad of tubes and cords connected to them. I wanted to start nursing them, but they had to be tube fed. Every drop of specialty formula they ingested mattered profoundly toward their weight gain. Their tiny bodies, head to toe, didn’t even take up the space from the palm of my hand to the end of my forearm. They floated in newborn onesies like oversized t-shirts. They were put on oxygen immediately after their birth, and we became obsessed with their oxygen saturation levels, fearful of any dip.
Eventually, both boys were released from NICU care and sent home where they continued to need supplemental oxygen. Though we were all home together, we weren’t out of the woods. They would remain at greater risk from complications from illnesses for quite some time. It seemed, throughout preschool and elementary school, a common cold would hit them harder and last longer than it would with their peers.
Routine childhood vaccines were crucial in protecting our boys. I lament that the rotavirus vaccine was not available at the time of their birth. I imagine how much easier those early days could have been if our oldest was protected by it. I also know that the routine childhood vaccines they did get helped them become the healthy adults they are today. For infants too young to receive routine vaccines – especially premature infants – vaccines are critical to ensuring their health and ability to thrive!
Immunize Colorado was formed in 1991 in response to alarmingly low vaccination rates across the state. At the time, only about 50% of Colorado’s children were adequately vaccinated. A group of physicians and other concerned individuals came together to strategize how to protect Coloradans from vaccine-preventable diseases and increase vaccine uptake. Much work remains. You can donate or discover other ways to get involved in supporting our commitment to healthy Colorado communities today!
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a vaccine that is administered to pregnant people to protect their babies from RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, through their first six months.
The single-dose shot, made by Pfizer, spurs the production of protective antibodies that transfer from mother to infant through the placenta. It’s the first vaccine that can protect babies from RSV, which causes a lower respiratory illness that can be severe in infants.
However, last month the FDA also approved an injectable RSV drug for infants that delivers a dose of antibodies directly to the bloodstream.
After two years of extraordinarily light flu seasons, which infectious disease experts attributed to Covid-19 pandemic precautions like social distancing and masking, influenza came roaring back, hitting early and hard.
Then respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which had been showing up at odd times during the year, surged to new heights over the winter months. It was one of the worst RSV seasons many doctors said they could remember.
On top of all that, there was an increase in Covid-19 cases, which almost seemed old hat after three years of wave after wave. The bivalent Covid-19 booster arrived just in time to defend against the BA.5 subvariant, but only 17% of Americans wound up getting the updated vaccine, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New Covid vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax will likely provide protection against the new “Eris” variant, now the dominant strain of the virus in the U.S.
The drugmakers designed their updated vaccines to target the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which is slowly declining nationwide. But health experts and initial data suggest that the new shots will still be effective against Eris, or EG.5, and other widely circulating variants – all of which are descendants of omicron.
With children going back to school and another COVID-19 variant of concern circulating, state and local public health officials are reminding residents to vaccinate themselves and their families.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is warning that immunization rates for school-required vaccines fell below 90% for the second year in a row at the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
“The data we’ve collected should provide parents and guardians with a warning signal that now is the time to make sure their children are vaccinated,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy in a news release.
While peak flu season typically begins in December and ends in February, the best time to get your flu vaccine is in September and October.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated some of its guidelines, mostly regarding egg allergies.
Most flu vaccines contain small amounts of egg protein, which is introduced during the vaccine-manufacturing process. Previously, those who suffered from severe egg allergies could get vaccines with “additional safety measures” — but now those extra measures aren’t necessary.
The number of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in women has been well documented, but less is known about this cancer-causing virus’s prevalence in men.
A new study published today in The Lancet Global Health (September 2023 early release) estimates the frequency of men harboring genital HPV infections.
These resarchers estimated the overall HPV prevalence of any type among men was 31% (95% CI 27–35), with study-specific prevalences ranging from 1% to 84%
And the overall prevalence of high-risk (HR) HPV was 21% (95% CI 18–24), with study-specific prevalences ranging from 1% to 75%. HPV-16 was the most frequent HR-HPV type at 5%.
Furthermore, HPV prevalence in men peaked in the group aged 25–29 years.