Public health director: federal vaccine schedule tightened but Colorado still follows older AAP guidance

The county’s public health director told commissioners that the federal government has reduced the routine childhood vaccine schedule and is separating some combined vaccines. “They're now um going down to 11 core vaccines. Um that is down from 18,” the director said, and added that, under the new federal guidance, children would receive about 24 injections across childhood rather than roughly 57 under prior guidance.

Commissioners pressed for clarity about how Colorado will respond. One commissioner asked whether the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) could follow the federal schedule given that much public‑health funding flows from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The director said funding for local public‑health programs typically passes from the CDC through CDPHE and that the state currently follows the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule. The director said the question of whether the state can or will change its policy “would be maybe a legal question” and that she would need to research possible court rulings or funding implications. The board did not take any immediate action on state policy.

The director also described operational changes: measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) may be split into individual vaccines under federal guidance and the flu and COVID vaccines were moved to shared clinical decision‑making, meaning clinicians and patients decide together whether to vaccinate. Commissioners noted parents retain exemption options under state rules and questioned whether schools would still require the older set of immunizations; staff said parents would still need the state's exemptions if Colorado continues to require a larger schedule than the federal baseline.

The public‑health update was informational; no ordinance or policy change was adopted by the board during the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to research legal, funding and school‑requirement implications and suggested the county might submit public comment to the state board of health if it organized a statement on the issue.