Colorado Charts Its Own Course on Vaccines Amid Federal Pullback
Doctors, lawmakers, and other advocates are joining forces to promote recommended childhood vaccines.
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Doctors, lawmakers, and other advocates are joining forces to promote recommended childhood vaccines.
Amid concerns that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining trust in vaccines and public health science, some states are seeking new sources of scientific consensus and changing how they regulate insurance companies, prescribers, and pharmacists. Colorado has been at the front of this wave.
In rural Colorado and across rural America, Medicaid is a lifeline, especially for people who wouldn’t otherwise have easy access to health care. That includes low-income seniors who need supplemental coverage in addition to Medicare, and people of all ages with disabilities.
Some hospitals are bringing in dogs to spend entire shifts with doctors and nurses. The trained canines help staffers cope with the stress of their work amid high levels of burnout.
New data on substance use among young adults suggests that many former teen e-cigarette users are continuing the habit.
In September, a popular pandemic benefit expired: free school lunch for all children attending public schools. Some states are stepping up to try to keep the free food available, and it is on the ballot next week in Colorado.
Colorado was among the first states to embrace wastewater testing to track the coronavirus, an important public heath intervention that can give early warning of outbreaks.
A Denver restaurant chain has a novel approach to address employees’ stress. It has hired a full-time mental health professional to help with group and one-on-one counseling.
Patients with other ailments are frustrated, and nurses and doctors are stressed and burned out, as unvaccinated covid-19 patients fill ICU and acute care beds.
A vaccine clinic came to an international soccer tournament in Denver recently. It was an attempt to reach Latino Coloradans, whose vaccination rates trail those of non-Hispanic whites.
Hospitals across the country are struggling as staffers get infected with the coronavirus. It's especially tough for small, rural hospitals, where even one doctor out sick can upend patient capacity.
E-cigarettes may look sleek, but they create toxic trash, especially at high schools where vaping is widespread. Disposable nicotine pods can be poisonous, and vape pens contain batteries and metals. Safely disposing of them can mean a trip to the local recycling center.
Starting to vape is easy, but quitting a nicotine habit can be tough, teens are finding. Some vaping cessation programs have begun to reach out to teens where they live — on their phones.
Federal regulators want to ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes at retail locations like gas stations and convenience stores.
Public health officials worry vaping is an emerging disaster that could reverse years of decline in smoking by young people. What's the latest evidence that e-cigarettes are a gateway to tobacco?
The Trump administration has talked about prioritizing the opioid crisis, but states have seen little in the way of new resources. And, in some states, getting into treatment is becoming even harder.
The collaboration known as ALTO, Alternatives to Opioids, set out to reduce opioid doses in the emergency room by 15 percent. It managed a 36 percent reduction instead.
Studies show promising results for a treatment approach that tackles chronic pain and addiction together, but obstacles stand in the way of this integrated care.
Proposition 106, on Colorado's ballot next month, would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to people who have less than six months to live. A recent poll shows strong support for the measure.
Gun shop owners and public health workers in Colorado are finding common ground amid rancor over guns and politics. They are collaborating to reduce suicides involving firearms.
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