As childhood immunization rates rise in Colorado, a lawmaker wants to strip funding from the state’s Immunization Information System.
As The Denver Post reports, Colorado ranks 14th in the country in childhood immunization rates, according to a study released Friday.
In 2015, more than three-quarters of kids ages 19 to 35 months in Colorado had received the recommended vaccinations for diseases like measles, polio, hepatitis-B and others. That represents a steady increase over the 60 percent vaccination rate in 2011.
Part of the growth in vaccination rates, according to Dr. Edwin Asturias, one of the study’s authors, is a result of the Affordable Care Act and the Colorado Immunization Information System, which helps doctors and parents track scheduled vaccinations.
But Senator Kevin Lundberg said in a meeting last month of the state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee that he doesn’t intend to fund the program, which costs about $3.3 million a year.
The Joint Budget Committee has pushed back its decision on funding the system for next year.
