COLORADO, CO — Public health officials are urging parents to get their kids vaccinated before sending them back to school. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), vaccination rates are down.
The largest decrease is among kindergartners. Only 88% of kindergartners are up to date on their vaccines a 5% drop from last year, except for hepatitis B, immunization rates remain at just under 91%.
The CDPHE says that this marks the second year in a row that immunization rates in kindergartners fell below 90%. About 96% of all school-age kids have received their necessary immunizations holding steady with current rates.
CDPHE stresses that the more children who are vaccinated. The more protected we all are.
"There's a threshold at which a community needs to be vaccinated to offer broad protection to all people in the community, especially those who might be at higher risk for severe disease. So for example, measles, you should have about a 95% vaccination rate when we look at our rates home for kindergarten-aged kids, and, even our K through 12 population. We're below that threshold," said Heather Roth, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.
If you have a primary care provider and insurance, including Medicaid, Medicare, or Child Health Plan Plus you can ask if they will provide routine vaccinations to you or your family at no extra costs. If not, you qualify for low-cost to free vaccines from the providers below. Note, that not all providers offer free vaccines, so call ahead to confirm.
Click here to learn more.
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