Colorado Vaccines For Children: Polio, Measles, Other Rates Drop

COLORADO — School-required vaccine rates dropped during pandemic in Colorado, state public health officials said.

While children ages 11 and younger are not yet eligible for any of the COVID-19 vaccines, there are other vaccines that protect them from 16 other infectious diseases, including measles, whooping cough, mumps and chickenpox.

With the exception of hepatitis B, immunization rates for school-required vaccines fell during the 2020-2021 school year among kindergartners in our state, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said. Coverage for polio and chickenpox vaccine rates fell below 90 percent, state data shows.

Statewide rates among Colorado child care facilities fell for all seven school-required vaccines, though coverage rates remained at or above 93 percent, public health officials said.

“Staying up-to-date on existing vaccinations is critical during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Heather Roth, immunization branch chief with the state's Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response.

“The last thing we want is an outbreak of any kind, especially when it’s easily preventable. Let’s keep our focus on slowing the spread of COVID-19 and do what we can to give our children the best chance at safe in-person learning this school year.”

There was a 37.8 percent decrease in children and youth vaccines given per week between March and April 2020 compared to the same time the previous year, according to data from the Colorado Immunization Information System. There was a decline of 5.5 percent from April 2020 to March 2021.

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Children who are not protected by vaccines are more vulnerable to preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough, public health officials said.

Colorado issued the following list of platforms to help parents make informed choices about vaccinating their children:

• COVax4Kids.org helps people find out if their children are eligible for low- or no-cost vaccines and helps them find a provider who gives them.
• COVaxRecords.org directs people on how to request vaccination records for their children.
• COVID19.colorado.gov/well-child provides more information about the safety of well-child checkups during the pandemic.
• COVaxRates.org makes it easy for people to look up vaccination and exemption rates for schools and child care facilities in Colorado so they can make the best decision for their children.