Press Release: July 7, 2023 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will be partnering with Colorado to pilot a new primary care model to enhance access to and quality of primary care services. Making Care Primary is an investment model aimed at improving care management and care coordination, equipping primary…
On April 1, 2022, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published updated recommendations for universal hepatitis B vaccination in adults aged 19-59 years. The updated recommendation removes the risk factor assessment previously in place for adults in this age group. A universal recommendation will simplify the hepatitis B recommendation for both vaccine recipients and clinicians with the hope to…
The Immunization Branch at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) introduced a new School COVID-19 Vaccination Data dashboard displaying COVID-19 vaccination rates for kindergarten through 12th grades at the school district and school levels. CDPHE and Colorado Department of Education (CDE) entered into an interagency data sharing agreement in January 2022 that…
Established in 1990 as a joint venture between CDC and FDA , the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) serves as the nation’s early warning system to collect reports of adverse events after vaccination. VAERS depends on reports made by the public and health care providers. It provides scientists with valuable information to assess possible…
For Immediate Release DENVER, COLORADO – The Colorado Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP) is alarmed by the rapid rise in new COVID-19 infections due to the highly infectious Omicron variant. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that getting fully vaccinated, receiving a booster shot, and wearing a high quality mask reduces the spread and severity of…
As COVID-19 vaccines are being allocated across the United States (U.S.), many Americans are ambivalent about or will refuse them. Fortunately, we have ample scientific knowledge regarding how to meet people at their stage of readiness for accepting vaccinations, proactively addressing concerns, facilitating confidence, and building internal motivation for healthy decision making. Many of those…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Denver, CO – The Colorado Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP), representing over 2,700 practicing primary care physicians, residents, and medical students, applauds and supports the new Colorado state grant program for primary care clinics to provide the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost to patients. The $60 million COVID-19 Primary Care Vaccination Grant…
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) was founded in 1993 and is considered a gold standard immunization resource for those administering vaccines. The IAC’s immunization resources have now been used by generations of health care providers. Some of these resources have stood the test of time and have been used for almost 30 years. These resources exist because of…
This is a guest post by CAFP Member Megan Lykke, MD, in Fruita, CO. I admit; I was nervous. I received my first COVID vaccine in December. This means I was in the first group of people across the country. I knew I would get the vaccine. Spending a year as a health care worker…
The rate of new COVID-19 infections in Colorado remains stubbornly high, despite substantial progress toward vaccinating the population. Both the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest maximizing vaccination whenever possible. Moreover, Colorado Joint Vaccine Task Force advises providers to take every opportunity to…
Since COVID-19 vaccines became a reality in late 2020, public health officials have watched closely all available data on vaccine hesitancy including the impacts of race and ethnicity as well as gender, education and age on the likelihood that a person would express concerns about taking a COVID vaccine. In September 2020, when the first…
According to a new report released by Children’s Hospital Colorado and Immunize Colorado, the state is experiencing two troubling trends: skyrocketing costs for care for children and adults suffering from vaccine-preventable diseases and plummeting rates of childhood vaccinations. The new data examines CDC National Immunization Survey data and 2019 Colorado Hospital Association inpatient and emergency…