In response to abrupt and politicized changes in federal vaccine policy, concerned Coloradans have taken several steps to bolster support for vaccine science.
A bill passed by the state legislature in March and then signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis allows Colorado to further decouple from federal guidance.
The law allows health officials to follow the recommendations of national medical groups when making decisions such as purchasing vaccines in bulk for the Medicaid program.
“We are insulating our state from the dysfunction coming out of Washington,” said Democratic state Sen. Kyle Mullica, a co-sponsor of the bill and a registered nurse. “Let's trust science.”
“From fighting during the pandemic to get Coloradans vaccinated as quickly as possible to fighting the Trump Administration's barriers to getting vaccinated, we have expanded access to vaccines for Coloradans who want them,” Polis said in a statement when he signed the law.
Colorado is one of at least 29 states that, along with Washington, D.C., have taken steps to circumvent the new federal recommendations amid concerns that the changes could undermine public confidence in vaccines and erode broad vaccine coverage.
Previously, Colorado, like most states, had followed federal guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In January, CDC advisory panelists, selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., removed six pediatric vaccines from the agency's universal recommendation list.
Last year, doctors, scientists, local leaders and other supporters came together to form an outreach and advocacy coalition called Colorado Chooses Vaccines.
The group aims to provide a clear, unified voice on the proven benefits of vaccines and reassure residents confused by numerous federal changes.
Former Denver City Council member Carol Boigon joined the group because she wants more people to hear her own chilling story about vaccine-preventable diseases.
“Every summer everyone got sick,” Boigon said, remembering his childhood in 1950s Detroit.
The disease was polio, a highly contagious viral disease that attacks the nervous system and sometimes causes partial or total paralysis.
During the summer of 1953, “the whole block got sick and some of us were crippled, and that's how things went,” he said.
A new group advances
Boigon's personal story will be part of the coalition's work to educate new generations about the dangers of infectious diseases that were once common in the U.S. but are now relatively rare.
The group, which formed last September, will also gather vaccine information from medical groups and the state health department and advocate for policy proposals to the state government.
“It was a direct response to federal threats,” said another coalition member, former state legislator Susan Lontine. He runs the nonprofit organization Immunize Colorado.
Another member, public relations specialist Elizabet García, wants greater outreach to Hispanics, whose vaccination rates lag behind other groups.
“A lot of times it's the fear that they're going to have to pay out of pocket, that their insurance won't cover it, that they might not even have insurance in general,” Garcia said.
Boigon was five years old when she became ill and was hospitalized for six weeks with a fever. The virus attacked his spine.
“None of my limbs worked immediately afterward,” Boigon said.
Although he regained function in his other limbs, his right arm never fully recovered. He had to adapt, relearning everyday tasks like extending his left hand to people.
In 1955, shortly after she became ill, the new polio vaccine became more widely available to the public. As vaccines took off, cases of polio in the United States, once one of the country's most feared diseases, fell by about 85% to 90%.
Increased public trust
State leaders have taken other steps to promote public health. After the Trump administration withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization, several states, including Colorado, decided to join the WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network on their own.
Colorado also joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.
And the new state law has provisions in addition to allowing the state to deviate from federal recommendations. It encodes the ability of pharmacists to prescribe and administer vaccines themselves. It also increases legal protections for health care workers who administer vaccines.
“This law will provide more clarity to guide all Coloradans, including providers administering vaccines,” Lontine said.
But the legislation has opponents who say it would interfere with parental choice and say vaccines could be unsafe or ineffective.
“I just want to make sure that we're not getting into a big political fight between the federal recommendations (the CDC and so on) and the different political opinions here in Colorado,” said Republican state Sen. John Carson, who voted against the vaccine bill.
NPR contacted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about Colorado's new law. Spokeswoman Emily Hilliard responded in an email: “CDC's updated children's calendar continues to protect children against serious illness.”
Increase in preventable diseases
The surge in activity across the state comes as Colorado and the nation have seen increases in diseases like the flu and measles.
As of mid-May, Colorado had recorded 22 cases of measles this year. In 2025, it recorded 36 cases, according to the state health department, far exceeding previous years' totals.
Across Colorado, measles vaccination rates in kindergartens were 88% last school year, with only a few counties reaching rates of 95%, the level needed for herd immunity, according to data published by The Washington Post in December.
This has also been the worst flu season in Colorado in recent years.
Vaccination rates for both flu and Covid-19 have decreased slightly in Colorado, according to the state health department.
Eight children in Colorado have died this season from the flu; one from covid; and one for RSV or respiratory syncytial virus. Vaccines for all three are available for children and are recommended by the state health department.
Kennedy, a veteran anti-vaccine activist, has defended his decision to review the recommended schedule for childhood vaccines.
In March, a federal judge halted many of the changes.
“We're not going to take vaccines away from anyone. If you want to get vaccinated, you can. Insurance will fully cover it, like before,” Kennedy told CBS News in January.
When a reporter suggested that the new changes could result in fewer people getting flu shots, Kennedy said, “Well, that may be, and maybe it's a little better.”
Boigon is sometimes incredulous at everything that has happened.
“It's like we're going backwards,” he said. “It's like we've decided we don't want a modern life; we want to go back to the 1950s, where children were getting sick and dying.”
This article is from a partnership with Colorado Public Radio and NPR.
