Supporters Speak Out

"The Colorado Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) represents community and academic pediatricians.  Our mission is to promote the health of all children and support improving the immunization educational opportunities for families in the State of Colorado.  Currently Colorado has one of the highest exemption rates in the country and it is clear that vaccine preventable disease can be reduced by increasing vaccination rates.  Decreasing convenience exemption and educating families as to the risk of choosing a personal exemption will improve the health of the kids in Colorado. The Colorado AAP supports the six task force recommendations and looks forward to working with our community partners to advance immunization policy in Colorado."
Colorado Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
 

"The Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials (CALPHO), representing the local public health agencies across Colorado, acknowledges and appreciates the work of the personal belief exemption taskforce. It is critically important for Colorado to increase immunization rates to prevent more children from getting sick and dying of vaccine preventable diseases like Pertussis. Strengthening the personal belief exemption process will help prevent exemptions being used for convenience or out of a lack of information and lack of understanding of the impact of not vaccinating our children. We believe that the six taskforce recommendations are a step in the right direction and we look forward to working with state departments, schools, medical providers, advocates and families to improve the personal belief exemption process and to protect more children from vaccine preventable disease."
Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials
 

"The Colorado Children’s Campaign was proud to participate in a six month statewide stakeholder process to study the state’s immunization exemption policies and strongly supports the recommendations it contains."
The Colorado Children's Campaign
 

"Denver Health, as the largest provider of pediatric medical care and public health services in Denver, strongly supports the recommendations of Colorado's Personal Belief Exemption Policy for Immunizations: Stakeholder Engagement Process Report.  Vaccine coverage for a number of critical infections is low in Colorado, in part due to an overly broad policy on personal exemption from childhood vaccines.  The recent pertussis epidemic was a stark reminder of the importance of immunizations in our community.  While persons who are fully-immunized can develop pertussis, those who are unimmunized or partially immunized are at markedly increased risk of becoming ill and transmitting the infection to others.  The slow uptake of the vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is another example of missed opportunities to prevent serious several kinds of cancer.  

The recent Stakeholder Engagement Process on the personal exemption developed common-sense recommendations that could increase vaccine coverage while retaining parental choice.  We urge prompt adoption of these recommendations by the Colorado legislature and departments of the state government."
Bill Burman, MD, Director
Denver Public Health


"I emphatically support having the State of Colorado require parents who wish to not vaccinate or partially vaccinate their children receive standardized medical provider education regarding risks to individual children and the community at large. Parents should be required to sign a standardized form acknowledging that they are deciding to put the health of their child and the community at large at risk for serious infections and the morbidity and mortality associated with these infections. Health care providers should also sign the form acknowledging that they have provided standardized counseling to the parents. I would strongly consider requiring parents watch an educational video providing evidence-based data supporting vaccination and refuting the major main-stream non-evidence based information in the community."
Janine Young, MD, Pediatrician
Denver


"As a pediatrician, I see children with whooping cough, influenza and other diseases that could be prevented by better immunization rates.  I feel like protecting children who can't make decisions for themselves is an honorable goal. 

In the 1980's I watched children die of Hemophilus influenza disease and I don't want to go through that again. Vaccines are safe and effective. Let's keep our kids safe."
Peter E Knott, MD, Pediatrician
Westminster

"Colorado vaccination policy needs a booster shot"
The Denver Post Editorial Board
 

"Opinion: Personal responsibility for public health: Colorado's unvaccinated children, revisited"
Boulder Damily Camera
 

"As an individual who has witnessed the full force of vaccine-preventable disease in an underserved country with enormous need but limited resources, I am saddened and frustrated by the frequency of vaccine refusal in Colorado. It is simultaneously a piercing irony and an unacceptable burden for our children living in a privileged nation. I strongly advocate for childhood immunization in my own clinic, and I fully support the proposed amendments to reduce unnecessary exemptions in our state."
Joshua T.B. Williams, MD, Pediatric Resident
University of Colorado School of Medicine

"The Colorado Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP) is pleased to support the final report by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Colorado’s Personal Belief Exemption policy for childhood Immunizations. The CAFP fully supports the CDPHE recommendations, including the requirement of education and/or counseling prior to claiming a personal belief exemption.

Although it is certainly the right of parents to make decisions regarding their children’s health care, there is much confusion and often inaccurate information about the dangers of immunizations. Parents should receive accurate and scientific information before opting out of those immunizations.  It would also be prudent to be sure parents are making a decision by intent, and not by convenience as is the case of parents who sign a waiver to avoid delaying children’s school attendance and never get around to completing the child’s immunization schedule.

From 2010-2011, 5.7% of Colorado kindergarteners were not fully vaccinated upon school entry as a result of personal belief exemptions (PBEs). This equates to almost 4,000 children entering schools each year who are unimmunized against one or more vaccine preventable diseases.

The CAFP believes that low immunization rates among children in Colorado are a public health issue that must be addressed by elected officials, government departments, schools, parents, and physicians."

Richard Budensiek, DO, FAAFP
President of the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians

“Increasing and maintaining immunization rates is vital to protecting our children and our communities from disease. Strengthening the Personal Belief Exemption Policy is an important step to encourage informed decision making for children’s immunizations and will result in improved health for Colorado.”

Jeffrey J. Cain MD
Board Chair, American Academy of Family Physicians

"As a new pediatrician in Colorado, I have seen and cared for multiple children in 6 short months affected by vaccine preventable diseases. Practicing in Colorado, currently with one of the highest vaccine exemption rates in the country, I support the move towards requiring additional steps in obtaining a personal belief vaccine exemption. I support steps to encourage dialogue between health providers and families about childhood health and vaccines."
Stacy Stieren, MD
Pediatric Resident, Children's Hospital Colorado 

"As the world’s largest organization of individuals dedicated to the treatment, control, and eradication of infectious diseases in children, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) supports the passage of Colorado HB 1288. Vaccines are the most effective cost saving health care tool available for children. Providing vaccines to the most children possible not only is of immense benefit to the children, but it also benefits society in general. This bill is an excellent initiative that will provide an avenue to ensure that families have more complete information upon which to make decisions about immunizing their children. PIDS strongly endorses this bill and its passage by the Colorado legislature."
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS)
 

"The additional requirements that are included in HB 14-1288 are an important step in assuring that the right to
an exemption is not abused. The bill does not take away parental choice; it merely adds an educational
component so that the choice is an informed, educated one, and not made out of convenience or is based on
misinformation. We urge legislators to vote to pass HB 14-1288." 
Deborah L. Wexler, M.D., Executive Director
Diane C. Peterson, Associate Director for Immunization Projects
Immunization Action Coalition