Colorado Immunization Program

By Katie Kern, mom of two elementary school kids and a healthcare communications expert for the Colorado Immunization Program Wow, what a year. H1N1, or swine flu, raised its ugly oinking head and made many of us parents pretty scared. It seems so long ago that world health officials declared the 2009 H1N1 flu a pandemic and many parents worried about what was on the horizon. Beginning last summer, we saw camps closing and kids being sent home after flu outbreaks. Then as school started, we saw the number of H1N1 cases rise forcing some schools to close. We taught our kids (and ourselves) the great art of washing hands, sneezing into our sleeves and using hand sanitizer like it was going out of style. Many of us rushed to get our seasonal flu vaccinations and then waited, not so patiently,...