2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 25 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (§§ 25-1-101 — 25-59-106) › DISEASE CONTROL (§§ 25-4-101 — 25-4-2504) › Article 4 - DISEASE CONTROL (§§ 25-4-101 — 25-4-2504) › Part 17 - INFANT IMMUNIZATION ACT (§§ 25-4-1701 — 25-4-1711) › Section 25-4-1705 - Department of public health and environment - powers and duties - rules

(1)
The department shall negotiate for the purchase of and shall purchase vaccines to achieve the purposes of this part 17.
(2)
The department shall secure and maintain such facilities as may be necessary for the safe and adequate preservation and storage of such vaccines.
(3)
The department shall distribute such vaccines, in accordance with rules promulgated by the board of health, without purchase, shipping, handling, or other charges to practitioners who agree not to impose a charge for such vaccine on the infant recipient, the child's parent or guardian, third-party payer, or any other person; except that a practitioner may charge a reasonable administrative fee in connection with the administration of a vaccine. The board of health shall determine the amount of such administrative fee that a practitioner may charge.
(4)
The department shall collect epidemiological information and shall establish a system for recording such information pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by the board of health.
(5)
The board of health, in consultation with the medical services board in the state department of health care policy and financing, and such other persons, agencies, or organizations that the board of health deems advisable, shall formulate, adopt, and promulgate rules governing the implementation and operation of the infant immunization program. Such rules shall address the following:
(a)
The purchase, storage, and distribution of the vaccines by the department;
(b)
Requirements that providers, hospitals, and health-care clinics must meet before entering into a contract with the department, making such provider, hospital, or clinic an agent of the department for the purposes of the infant immunization program;
(c)
Which vaccines shall be required to be administered;
(d)
The route and frequency of the vaccine's administration;
(e)
(Deleted by amendment, L. 2007, p. 655, § 3, effective April 26, 2007.)
(f)
The issuance of immunization records to parents or guardians;
(g)
The assessment of the vaccination status of infants;
(h)
The dissemination of information about the operation of the infant immunization program, including the requirement that such information be distributed by hospitals to parents of newborns.
(6)
The department is authorized to accept any gifts or grants or awards of funds from the federal government or private sources for the implementation and operation of the infant immunization program.
(7)
The department is authorized to enter into contracts which are necessary for the implementation and operation of the infant immunization program.
(8)
County, district, or municipal public health agencies and the department shall use the birth certificate of any infant to enroll such infant in an immunization tracking system established in section
25-4-2403
. Such use of the infant's birth certificate shall be considered an official duty of county, district, and municipal public health agencies and the department.
(9)
(a)
(Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 2198, § 1, effective August 6, 2003.)
(b)
The department or any person who contracts with the department pursuant to subsection (7) of this section may establish a purchase system as described in section
25-4-2403
for the procurement of vaccines for privately insured persons under federal government contracts.
(10)
Physicians, licensed health-care practitioners, clinics, schools, licensed child care providers, hospitals, managed care organizations or health insurers in which a student, as defined in section
25-4-901 (3)
, or an infant is enrolled as a member or insured, persons that have contracted with the department pursuant to subsection (7) of this section, and public health officials may release any immunization records in their possession, whether or not such records are in the immunization tracking system established in section
25-4-2403
, to the persons or entities specified in section
25-4-2403 (1)
to provide an accurate and complete immunization record for the child in order to verify compliance with state immunization law.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 350, § 2, eff. 5/28/2013.
L. 92: Entire part added, p. 1309, § 1, effective July 1. L. 94: IP(5), (5)(b), and (5)(e)(IV) amended, p. 2776, § 475, effective July 1. L. 98: (5)(e) amended, p. 20, § 3, effective August 5. L. 2001: IP(5) and (5)(e) amended and (9) and (10) added, p. 825, § 4, effective August 8. L. 2002: (5)(e)(III)(A) and (5)(e)(III)(B) amended, p. 1536, § 266, effective October 1. L. 2003: (5)(e)(II)(D) and (5)(e)(IV) amended, p. 710, § 42, effective July 1; (9) amended, p. 2198, § 1, effective August 6. L. 2005: (5)(e)(IV) and (5)(e)(V) amended and (5)(e)(VI) added, p. 419, § 1, effective April 29. L. 2007: (5)(e), (8), and (10) amended, p. 655, § 3, effective April 26. L. 2010: (8) amended, (HB 10 -1422), ch. 419, p. 2101, § 111, effective August 11. L. 2013: (9)(b) amended, (SB 13-222), ch. 350, p. 2030, § 2, effective May 28.
For the legislative declaration contained in the 1994 act amending the introductory portion to subsection (5) and subsections (5)(b) and (5)(e)(IV), see section 1 of chapter 345, Session Laws of Colorado 1994. For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act amending this section, see section 1 of chapter 318, Session Laws of Colorado 2002. For the legislative declaration in the 2013 act amending subsection (9)(b), see section 1 of chapter 350, Session Laws of Colorado 2013.