So i think with all the HHS / CDC disruption, its possible some local public health agencies just forgot.
Fwiw, Adams co and Mesa county did relatively normal amounts of messaging. But Denver & Arapahoe public health depts and CDPHE did not. Maybe the PIO at Adams or Mesa has good insight?
I also think the strange “flu shots aren’t recommended” by the CDC anymore further dried up funding.
I do know that i spoke to ACPH about their lack of messaging in February at Board of health public comment, and they immediately corrected and sent a “get your flu shot” message within 2 days. /2
I think that the typical “get your flu shot” local messaging campaigns are probably funded and encouraged (by providing easy to use messaging, and reminders) by the CDC, and with the shutdown happening when those campaigns would normally occur, i would surmise that was a big factor. /1
Most can easily mean: alito, thomas, kavanaugh, gorsuch, and coney barrett. 6 of 9 is most
I wonder if the lack of messaging, lack of funding for vaccine drives and the confusion around vaccine coverage by medicaid left colorado kids particularly vulnerable this year to that early surge?
There were over 1000 pediatric flu hospital admissions for flu this year, which feels REALLY high.
And i also think the Oct 1-Nov 12 government shut down coincided with the typical vaccine campaign rollout and surrounding public health messaging efforts.
Colorado public health agencies barely said the word Flu publicly AT ALL this fall which is really unusual for the state. /2
Vaccination rates and timing.
Flu hit comparatively early here which meant it had loads of opportunity to spread in schools here before winter holiday break.
(This is the cdc ILI map from early December)
(my sons school reported a flu outbreak around this time)
www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
"The tragic reality is that influenza, COVID‑19, and RSV can all be serious—and even fatal — for children, including those who were previously healthy,” said Dr. Edwin J. Asturias, a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at CU Anschutz @cuanschutz.bsky.social www.cpr.org/2026/04/16/7...
Colorado is outperforming nationwide averages by a factor of THREE.
Been following your coverage of pediatric flu deaths.
Wasnt sure if you were aware of this stat: of the 143 flu deaths nationwide, Colorado has had 7.
~1 in 20 of the pediatric flu deaths happened here, but only 1.25 million of the US’s 71.5 million children live here (~1 in 57)
Which means…
💯
To sum it all up?
Everything is trending down, with April keeping its reputation for lowest levels of COVID year after year.
There have been 3 measles cases added in Weld County since last week as a new outbreak has been declared, bringing the total for the year to 16.
There is a very slight uptick in wastewater this week for COVID & RSV.
For COVID, the trends remain mostly "decreasing", ticked up slightly, though levels remain VERY low.
There are slightly more utilities with detections of RSV this week (12) than last (9).
Hospital Admissions (comparing to initial #s for last week)
Covid: 19, down from 23 last week.
Flu: 64, down from 82,
RSV: 97, down from 129.
Nice to see all the viruses dipping below 100 for the first time since November as RSV dips and Flu B continues to wane.
COVID, Flu & RSV in Colorado update, 4/15/26
The Flu season is finally looking like it is coming to a close as all indicators for the viruses continue to drop.
RSV & Flu B finally dip.
COVID & Flu A remain very low.
Wastewater detections for RSV tick up slightly.
www.cpr.org/2026/04/15/c... It puts the state well ahead of last year’s pace, when it saw 36 confirmed cases, way more than previous years. Most Colorado counties don't reach the herd immunity level for measles vaccination, with kindergarten vaccination rates at 88 percent, well below the 95% mark.
OMG. I am dying.
To sum it all up? The flu season started early but is lingering into April as Flu B and RSV continue to circulate.
COVID & Flu A are very limited.
We eclipsed the weekly hospital admission record in December & have now beaten the season long hospital admission record for Flu.
The Wastewater COVID trends continue to be very low, with only 2 utilities increasing.
Flu B and RSV remain elevated.
Covid levels are very very very low.
As with many years past, April is looking like a good time for higher risk medical care from a COVID perspective.
Meanwhile, CDPHE is silent about the this concern. They've tweeted the word "flu" ONCE since May last year. (same on FB)
They issued no warning about the early flu season as a new subvariant of Flu A spread rapidly in December, and No warning about the high toll on kids.
The state has experienced two record breaking flu seasons in back to back years.
Our current total is 65% higher than the pre pandemic five year average (2014-2019: 3371.6)
Coloradans are experiencing more severe flu illness than ever before.
This flu year has been a beast.
Last year, we set a new all time record for flu hospitalizations at 5478, beating the previous total by 17%. With ~6 weeks left of flu season, we have now passed that total, with 5560 admissions & we are still adding about 100 admissions/wk.
Hospital Admissions (comparing to initial #s for last week)
Covid: 23, down from 25 last week.
Flu: 82, down from 110,
RSV: 129, down from 207.
Flu B remains the predominant Flu variant circulating, as the Flu B wave pushes total hospitalizations above last year's record.
COVID, Flu & RSV in Colorado update, 4/8/26
Colorado's horrible no good very bad Flu season continues to slow, but is not over.
RSV drops.
COVID is very low.
Flu hospitalizations slow as we set a new all time record for hospital admissions in a single flu-season.
To sum it all up?
RSV & Flu B remain elevated, but are finally slowing.
Flu B positivity finally drops, indicating admissions will likely drop next week.
But we are very close to the all time record for flu admissions, and will likely set a new record next week.
Samples can be damaged in transit, tests can be performed wrong or by an underexperienced lab tech, the results can be recorded wrong, the test machine can malfunction, etc.
IMHO? Ignore the WW this week. Hopefully next week the data will look more reliable, as today's data did.
White data predates issues. Blue is "during issues" in Friday update. Yellow is todays update (no apparent issues)
Despite reassurance from CDPHE, the Friday data update doesn't pass *my* sniff test.
Had the pattern of VERY low levels continued, with an occasional slightly higher level continued, I would put more faith in it. But the pattern returned to previous "norms" of mixed levels.
There had never been a single day with more than 10 reports with all viruses below detectable levels for all viruses & utilities.
CDPHE looked into it and did not find an issue. But the reports added in today's data update look more "normal", with varying levels of Flu B & COVID.
The Wastewater COVID trends fall off a cliff this week, with only one utility increasing. Flu B is still elevated.
However, I noticed anomalies in the data published Friday. 44 consecutive reports from utilities for 4 separate viruses were all "below detectable levels".
This year has not quite surpassed last year's record total, but it is very close.
With the Flu B wave still adding well over 100 hospital admissions per week, we will set a new record next week.