Hello Colorado!
Welcome back after the long weekend. We have tons of health news for you this week, so let’s just jump into it!
Abortion laws in Colorado
In the past year, there has been a flurry of new abortion laws enacted in the U.S. as states have sought to either protect access or restrict the procedure. But in Colorado, there are neither laws restricting access to abortion nor guaranteeing it.
Colorado was one of the first states to loosen restrictions on legal abortions before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade ruling in 1973, and is generally considered “safer ground than most states” when it comes to access of the procedure. And as my colleague Anna Staver reports, Colorado could be expected to add laws protecting abortion — however, advocates don’t think it’s the right time to address the issue.
Still, abortion remains a political flashpoint in the state, with Democrats believing the issue will help them defeat Sen. Cory Gardner in 2020.
You can read more here.
Colorado 2017-18 school vaccination rates database
Recently, I teamed up with my colleague Kevin Hamm to create a database that contains immunization rates for schools, preschools and child-care centers across Colorado. I wanted to make the database because the state’s vaccination rate has been a big topic in recent months. State lawmakers have debated a bill on vaccine exemptions and measles outbreaks have occurred in communities across the U.S.
Colorado has one of the lowest immunization rates for the MMR — measles, mumps and rubella — vaccine as only 88.7 percent of kindergarteners received the shot during the 2017-18 school year. At such a rate, the state misses the threshold for “herd immunity,” which is needed to protect a population from an outbreak, according to the CDC.
You can search the database for your school here.
Health must-reads
- Colorado became the first state in the U.S. to cap what patients can be charged for insulin. Under the bill, which was signed earlier this month, Coloradans who use the medication to control their blood sugar won’t pay more than $100 a month as of January.
- During the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch, at least three students charged one of the suspects. These actions have been praised as heroic but their stories have also drawn concern from psychologists who worry it could push kids to put themselves in harm’s way.
- A jury has awarded $3 million to a man who became paralyzed after medical staff at Pueblo’s Parkview Medical Center failed to recognize a spinal injury when he sought treatment at the facility.
- cluster of mumps has been found in people connected to Arapahoe Basin Ski & Snowboard Area in Summit County.
- Colorado has joined other states in suing the federal government to prevent a new rule that would allow health care providers to object to providing abortions and other services because of moral or religious beliefs.
Here’s what I’m reading:
- After several Southern and Midwestern states passed bills restricting abortion, there have been calls for boycotts. But the — New York Magazine
- The University of Maryland — The Washington Post
- Anti-vax websites and activists are sharing instructions for how to use 23andMe tests and a third-party app to analyze , including the unfounded fear that the shots can cause autism. — The Atlantic
- Rural hospitals across the nation are — The Washington Post
- Some hospitals are letting parents take their — Kaiser Health News
Have a story tip or other feedback? Email me at jseaman@denverpost.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at And don’t forget to become a to The Post!
See you in two weeks
— Jessica
