ROTARIANS MEET WITH STATE LEGISLATORS

Posted by Nan Jarvis (Mountain Foothills) johnnan@comcast.net

DG Bill Downes, Nan Jarvis (Maternal & Child Health Chair), and Dave Talbot (Founder, Crutches4Africa) met with state legislators on March 9 at a “Lunch and Learn” event hosted by the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition. The event was requested by legislators who wanted to gain information to use when speaking to constituents about the importance and safety of vaccines. A Q&A forum featured local vaccination experts Jessica Cataldi, MD (Infectious Disease Specialist, Children’s Hospital Colorado), Dave Talbot (Crutches4Africa), and Kelly Grenham (School Nurse Consultant, CO Association of School Nurses Legislative Chair). The speakers provided an overview of the newly-released 2016 Vaccine Preventable Diseases in Colorado’s Children Report (click to read the report), information about immunization safety and effectiveness, and a review of the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) and data collection practices.

April is Maternal & Child Health Month for RI. RI suggests taking action to ”develop or support programs that provide immunizations and antibiotics. Measles, malaria, pneumonia, AIDS, and diarrheal diseases are the leading causes of death in children under five.” For more information contact Nan Jarvis, johnnan@comcast.net, or 303-242-2615.