New eligibility criteria a major improvement over existing rules

Colorado School Vaccination Rates Are Public. Here's How To Find Them.

Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsThaddeus Locks, 10, of Colorado Springs, closes his eyes as nurse Diane Clark, a volunteer, administers his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at El Paso County Public Health's Southeast Women, Children and Infants office on Saturday, November 11, 2021.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.At/newsletters.

By Ann Schimke, Chalkbeat

Leer en español.

How many kindergartners are vaccinated against measles at your son's school? How many are vaccinated against whooping cough at your daughter's child care center?

These are the kinds of questions parents can answer quickly using a state database created by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The database lets users search vaccination and exemption rates for child care centers, schools, and colleges statewide, and look at trends over time.

State health officials say the database can help parents make informed decisions about where to send their children to school or child care.

Heather Roth, immunization branch chief for the health department, said the state's goal is for at least 95% of students in a school to have all required vaccinations. In Colorado, kindergarten entry requires five immunizations — each administered in multiple doses. They protect against nine illnesses, including polio, measles, chicken pox, and pertussis — commonly called whooping cough.

Roth said the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella, has been the focus of a recent text, email, and postcard campaign reminding parents to get their children up to date on that shot.

Statewide, 93.7% of students in pre-K-12 had the MMR vaccine last year, down from 95.1% in 2020-21.

"Our rates among our kindergarten age population in Colorado have been lower than what we'd like them to be historically," she said.

After reminder efforts in April and June, more than 12,000 children got the MMR vaccine.

MMR vaccination rates vary widely by school, with some at 100% and others below 70%. In Colorado, parents are allowed to seek an exemption from vaccinations because of religious or personal beliefs, though schools with low vaccination rates don't necessarily have large numbers of students with exemptions. Instead, families may be behind on required vaccinations or schools haven't followed up to collect vaccination paperwork.

Roth said measles is highly contagious and noted the virus can hang in the air for two hours after an infected person has left the room. Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. In 2000 but has cropped up again. Currently there's a measles outbreak in Oregon, one of more than a dozen outbreaks around the country in 2024.

In addition to the school-by-school search function, the state's vaccination database provides a color-coded map showing vaccination rates by school district. A dozen school districts that have relatively low vaccination rates, most small and rural, show up as red or orange.

Another nine show up as purple because they submitted no vaccination data last year. They include Bethune, Cotopaxi, Estes Park, Frenchman, Hi-Plains, Karval, Lone Star, Springfield, and Salida. Users searching for vaccination rates for these districts will instead see data from a previous year, usually 2022-23.

Families can find medical providers with free or low-cost childhood vaccinations using the state's Vaccines For Children map. The state provides additional vaccination information, including resources about flu and COVID vaccines, on its Get Vaccinated page.

See a list of upcoming mobile health clinics

The state's mobile health clinic program offers childhood vaccinations to uninsured and underinsured families. Most offer a variety of vaccinations but check here for a specific list by date.

Saturday, August 10: 10 a.M. To 2 p.M. Back to School event at Lincoln Tech11194 E. 45th Ave., Denver Monday, August 12: 8 a.M. To noon Aspire Online Academy200 Loomis Ave., Colorado Springs Wednesday, August 14: 9 a.M. To 3 p.M. Silverton Back to School Clinic1160 Snowden St., Silverton Thursday, August 15: 9 a.M. To 1 p.M. Manna Soup Kitchen1100 Avenida del Sol, Durango Friday, August 16: 10 a.M. To 4 p.M. Westside Mobile Home Park Community Center21134 US-160, Durango Saturday, August 17: 8:30 a.M. To 1 p.M. La Plata Family Center Coalition Back to School Fair495 Florida Rd., Durango Sunday, August 18: 10 a.M. To 3 p.M. Our Lady Mother of the Church Health Fair6690 E. 72nd Ave., Commerce City Thursday, August 22: 4-8 p.M. Vuela for Health at Central Elementary School6450 Holly St., Commerce City Saturday, August 24: 11 a.M. To 4 p.M. SLV PrideFirst Street, Alamosa

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at [email protected].

Back To School Vaccine Clinics Coming To Schools In Southern Idaho

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COVID-19 Vaccine

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IDAHO — As the upcoming school year approaches, South Central Public Health District is offering back-to-school vaccination clinics to provide any vaccines your child might need before starting classes.

The group says they're able to work with uninsured families to find low-cost options to provide vaccines for children.

Here's where you can find a vaccine clinic near you before the upcoming school year:

East Minico Middle School, Rupert, IdahoMonday, August 5, 20249am – 1pm

O'Leary Middle School, Twin Falls, IdahoTuesday, August 6, 202410am – 6pm

Robert Stuart Middle School, Twin Falls, IdahoTuesday, August 6, 202410am – 6pm

South Hills Middle School, Twin Falls, IdahoTuesday, August 6, 202410am – 6pm

West Minico Middle School, Paul, IdahoTuesday, August 6, 20249am – 1pm

Dworshak Elementary, Burley, IdahoWednesday, August 7, 20241pm – 7pm

Wendell Middle School, Wendell, IdahoWednesday, August 7, 20248am – 4pm

Twin Fall High School, Twin Falls, IdahoWednesday, August 7, 20248am – 3pm

Gooding School District, Gooding, IdahoWednesday, August 7, 202410am – 3pm

Kimberly High School, Kimberly, IdahoThursday, August 8, 20248:30am – 3:30pm

Filer High School, Filer, IdahoThursday, August 8, 20249am – 3pm

Shoshone Elementary School, Shoshone, IdahoMonday, August 12, 20245pm – 8pm

"Vaccines are essential to protecting against preventable diseases, keeping classrooms healthy and learning uninterrupted," said Melinda Bauman, SCPHD Immunization Coordinator and Registered Nurse. "Our vaccines are administered by qualified healthcare professionals, and we will be available at multiple schools during their registration days. Just show up, there's no need to make an appointment."

Copyright 2024 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NET Health Hosting Back-to-school Health Clinics

The Northeast Texas Public Health District (NET Health) is hosting several back-to-school health and vaccination clinics ahead of classes until Aug. 13. Visit this article to learn more: https://www.Ketk.Com/community/net-health-hosting-back-to-school-health-clinics/ KETK/FOX51 News covers East Texas, bringing you the latest local stories, weather, sports and lifestyle coverage from the Piney Woods. Keep up with KETK/FOX51 News: https://www.Ketk.Com/ Download the KETK/FOX51 app: https://www.Ketk.Com/apps/ Subscribe to KETK/FOX51 News: https://www.Youtube.Com/@KETK Find us on Facebook: https://www.Facebook.Com/KETKnbc and https://www.Facebook.Com/kfxkfox51

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