10 Public Health Stories that Made

Headlines – and an Impact – in Colorado


By Nikki Work, Senior Communications Specialist, Media Lead| [email protected] | January 2, 2020


In 2019, public health news made top headlines frequently. From a mysterious and deadly new vaping illness to ongoing climate change concerns to the re-emergence of diseases once thought to be eradicated by vaccines, these stories have dominated local, national and even international news cycles. Colorado was often a major player in, or had significant implications from, these stories.


As part of Jefferson County Public Health’s ongoing effort to keep its workforce and followers informed on the most important happenings in the public health world, here’s a wrap-up of the top 10 news stories that affected Colorado and why we’ve been paying close attention.

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One of the biggest news stories of the year in Public Health was the emergence of EVALI, or e-cigarette/vaping associated lung injury. According to the CDC, as of Dec. 17, a total of 2,506 EVALI cases had been reported from all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as 54 deaths from the illness. The latest finding is that the additive vitamin E acetate is closely linked with the illness, but that wasn’t known when a college-student struggled in the ICU with Colorado’s first diagnosed case of vaping-related illness.

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According to national data from the Drug Enforcement Administration, more than 1 billion prescription pain pills came into Colorado from 2006-2012. The data shows Alamosa County was hit the hardest, with the amount of drugs totaling 88 pills per person in the county per year. According to comprehensive reporting from the Washington Post, more than 142 million prescription pain pills flowed into Jefferson County, and the average number in the county totaled 38.4 pills per person, per year – the highest total in the Denver Metro Area besides neighboring Broomfield County (41). A Golden pharmacy received more individual pills (13 million) than any other pharmacy in the state. This data comes as major lawsuits were announced against Purdue Pharma and Johnson & Johnson in the wake of the opioid crisis, but some states, including Colorado, refused initial payouts unless Purdue’s Sackler family agreed to pay more for the damages caused by their products.

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In November, the Trump administration announced its plans to officially withdraw from the Paris climate accord when it becomes eligible to do so next fall. The withdrawal will make the U.S., which is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, the only nation to leave the accord. To put it into perspective, scientists are saying the projections made 20 years ago for where the climate would be in 2020 are nearly spot-on. And, since in Colorado, we fight an ongoing battle with poor air quality, limited water supply and weather crises, we can look to disaster- and drought-wrought California for context of what that means for the next 20 years, especially without major U.S. action on climate change.

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As part of the 2019 Colorado Legislative Session, lawmakers approved new regulations for oil and gas producers, the result of which will include more frequent inspections, tougher controls on emissions and more. These regulations come as a response to the EPA’s designation of the Denver Metro Area as a “serious” violator of ozone pollution standards, as well as concern for public health and climate change prevention.

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Just days before it was scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 15, three federal courts (ruling on suits brought by numerous states, including Colorado) blocked the Public Charge rule. The rule, an adaptation of one already on the books, would have increased the barriers for immigrants with low-income to access services, as well as cultivated fear and dissuaded individuals within these communities from trusting local service providers. However, despite the rule being blocked (pending the appeal process), many immigrants are already dropping their benefits and others are deciding not to access them in the first place.

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Homelessness and housing instability are major issues in Colorado, and more locally in Jefferson County. The Denver Post reported on the increased rates of homelessness in the Denver suburbs in August, as the county conducted its first Comprehensive Count of those experiencing homelessness. In September, the City of Lakewood passed an ordinance, which went into effect in October, banning RVs from parking on public streets. Most recently, a Denver County Court judge has ruled unconstitutional the city’s urban camping ban, which barred those experiencing homelessness from lying down or sheltering themselves, be it with blankets, tents or even cardboard boxes. This all comes on the heels of the 2019 Point in Time Survey, which estimated more than 5,750 people are experiencing homelessness in the Denver Metro Area on any given day.

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rolled out changes to the Title X program this summer. This included the headline-maker: pulling funding for clinics that provide abortion services, referrals or advice, as well as emphasizing natural family planning methods – such as cycle planning, fertility awareness and abstinence – over evidence-based, scientifically-proven contraceptives – such as birth control pills, patches, implants, IUDs and more. Major clinics, such as Planned Parenthood and Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center, which was the first clinic to open in Colorado after Roe v. Wade, announced they would stop taking Title X funds rather than change their services, but many providers were left in a lurch – adjust to fit funding needs or close their doors.

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From legislative efforts near the start of the year to toughen up the state’s relaxed policy around vaccine exemptions, to confirmed cases of measles found in children traveling through Denver International Airport and being treated at Children’s Hospital this month, 2019 has been a major year for measles. Colorado has the lowest Kindergarten vaccination rate, which means more children in the state are at risk, as well as higher risk to those who can’t receive vaccines, like infants and those with compromised immune systems.

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After soil sampling efforts took place at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge over the summer, one sample came back with alarmingly high levels of plutonium – 264 picocuries/gram of soil, or five times higher than the cleanup standard. This high reading prompted additional sampling, which all came back within the level deemed acceptable by the EPA, prompting the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to call the sample an outlier. The results from the rest of the samples taken (approx. 250) are expected soon.

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In early December, the Trump administration finalized its rule cracking down on work requirements for participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates more than 685,000 people will be cut from the program because of these changes. Opponents of this change from across the country – and both sides of the aisle – say this rule is unfair to those in need of benefits, especially those in transition between jobs or seeking jobs during periods of economic downturn. This rule also comes as the administration is proposing two additional rule changes to food and utility benefits. The Urban Institute found that these rules, all together, would completely cut SNAP benefits for 3.7 million people per month, reduce benefits for millions more and cause nearly 1 million students to lose access to free or reduced price school meals. These policy changes could harm 33,000 Coloradans, including 11,000 children.