After months of delicate persuasion campaigns meant to win the hearts and rolled-up sleeves of Colorado’s coronavirus vaccine hesitant, state leaders have in the last week added new muscle to the fight against the virus. Governments, health care organizations and businesses have announced vaccine mandates for employees. Even some who vowed not to require the […]
Denver Department of Public Heath and Environment
Posted inClimate, Coloradans, Environment, Health
Denver aims to raise awareness of steadily worsening air quality on the Front Range
Denver is expanding its air quality monitoring and education program to combat high rates of asthma in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color, focusing on school-age children. The city’s Department of Public Health and Environment is on schedule with a multiyear grant to install air monitors at 40 public schools and tie them together with […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News
Another outbreak: Trench fever spread by lice is found in Denver
By Markian Hawryluk, Kaiser Health News Dr. Michelle Barron, medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, received an unusual call last month from the microbiology lab: confirmation of the third case this year of trench fever, a rare condition transmitted by body lice that plagued soldiers during World War I. […]
Posted inCOVID, News, Politics and Government
As coronavirus cases rise, Colorado officials say contact-tracing efforts are keeping up, so far
When reports of coronavirus outbreaks tied to parties on Boulder’s University Hill first began filtering into Carol Helwig’s office at Boulder County Public Health, she and the rest of the staff were faced with a disease-tracking nightmare. Dozens of young people had attended the gatherings. Many didn’t know one another. And, when the parties stopped, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Colorado public health agencies are alerting law enforcement about people with coronavirus
Several local public health agencies in Colorado are sharing information with emergency dispatchers about households where people have tested positive for the new coronavirus. The agencies say the practice provides a warning to first responders to take extra precautions when dispatched to those homes, but privacy advocates are raising concerns. Authorities in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, […]
Posted inCOVID, News
Homeless shelters and health officials scramble for a plan as coronavirus spreads in Colorado
The public health practices intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 appear relatively simple. Cover your cough, sneeze into your sleeve, wash your hands frequently and distance yourself from others if you are displaying symptoms. But for individuals living in shelters or residing in public spaces, following those precautions may be challenging. “All the preventative […]