Public Health

U.S. life expectancy was already lower than other high-income nations and the gap was widening before 2019. Since then, things have gotten worse. New research found that in 2020, life expectancies here dropped disproportionately for marginalized, racialized populations. Especially for Native American and Alaska Native groups

With a warming climate and drought throughout our region, Colorado’s fire season is getting longer. More smoke, as well as emissions and smog, is contributing to Colorado’s already bad air quality. Add allergies to that, and it can be hard for people to breathe.

The program will focus on breast, colorectal and stomach cancers. It will start in Apache and Navajo communities, but the goal is to find solutions for any tribe.

Parents sending kids to school should look out for other fast-spreading viruses going around this season.

Last month, Larimer County re-implemented an indoor mask mandate as a way of combatting rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. That mandate is still in place as cases continue to climb and overwhelm hospitals in the county, many of which have been at or above capacity since the middle of August.

After hitting a spike in September, coronavirus cases across the country have been on the decline. Yet Colorado is among several states bucking the trend. Armed with a range of trend charts, state health officials point to a "stubborn plateau.”

Massive wildfires across the West have worsened the air in Colorado, contributing to roughly double the number of days residents are exposed to dangerous fine particulate matter known as PM 2.5 versus a decade ago. Researchers say the air can be hazardous even if you don't see or smell smoke.

In Las Vegas, county commissioners passed a resolution calling misinformation a "public health crisis," while Idaho's public health department is cracking down on misinformation on Facebook.

In Larimer County, hospitals are hitting max capacity as COVID-19 and the Delta variant surge through the community. As a result, Public Health Director Tom Gonzales is encouraging residents to get vaccinated. He joins Colorado Edition to talk about what the pandemic is looking like there, and how his approach to combating the virus has evolved.

COVID-19 cases are surging nationwide, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week to issue new guidance for vaccinated people to mask up in areas with high transmission rates. But if infections continue to rise, some Western states have limited how officials can respond.