By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio | May 21, 2026
This article is from a partnership that includes Colorado Public Radio, NPR and KFF Health News.
In response to abrupt and politicized changes to federal vaccine policy, concerned Coloradans have taken several steps to shore up support for vaccine science.
A bill passed by the state legislature in March then signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis allows Colorado to further uncouple itself from federal guidance. The law allows health officials to follow the recommendations of national medical groups when making decisions such as purchasing bulk vaccines for the Medicaid program.
“We are insulating our state from the dysfunction coming out of Washington,” said Democratic state Sen. Kyle Mullica, a co-sponsor of the bill and a registered nurse. “We’re going to rely on science.”
Colorado is one of at least 29 states that, along with Washington, D.C., have taken steps to bypass the new federal recommendations amid worries that the changes could chip away at public trust in vaccines. Previously, Colorado, like most states, had followed federal guidance set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In January, CDC advisory panelists, selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., removed six pediatric immunizations from the agency’s universal recommendation list.
Last year, doctors, scientists, local leaders, and other supporters came together to form an outreach and advocacy coalition called Colorado Chooses Vaccines. Carol Boigon, a former Denver City Council member, joined the group because she wants more people to hear her own story about vaccine-preventable illness: she was hospitalized with polio at age 5 in 1953 and never regained full function in her right arm.
As of mid-May, Colorado had recorded 22 measles cases this year. In 2025, it registered 36 cases, far surpassing totals from previous years. Kindergarten vaccination rates for measles were 88% last school year, with only a few counties achieving the 95% rate needed for herd immunity.
Read the full story, including additional reporting on the state’s new vaccine law, the Colorado Chooses Vaccines coalition, and HHS’s response, at the original: Colorado Charts Its Own Course on Vaccines Amid Federal Pullback.
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