DENVER — Colorado has been accepted into a network of more than 360 institutions as the state seeks to stay ahead of emerging public health threats following the withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organization earlier this year.
“We are thrilled to join the World Health Organization’s GOARN network, especially during a time when federal public health guidance is becoming less consistent,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Wednesday. “Disease does not stop at borders, and this partnership helps ensure Colorado is better prepared to protect people and respond quickly to emerging threats.”
The WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert Response Network, or GOARN, is a global partnership established by the international public health body at the turn of the millennium that pools resources and expertise from hundreds of institutions “for rapid identification, confirmation of and response to public health emergencies of international importance.”
Among some of its notable recent deployments, GOARN has assisted in the response to Ebola outbreaks in western Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing monitoring of bird flu and cholera in several regions of the world.
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Colorado became the latest U.S. state to apply for integration into GOARN after the Trump administration ended the country’s relationship with the WHO back in January over its response to the coronavirus pandemic, what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said was a failure to adopt reforms and what the administration claimed was the agency’s inability for transparency and independence.
As part of GOARN, Colorado will be able to connect the state’s public health experts with hundreds of institutions working to detect, verify, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies — at no cost to the state.
Last month, Denver7’s Anusha Roy sat down with Gov. Polis and Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist, to talk about Colorado’s decision to join GOARN. Polis said it was important for Colorado to join the network so that the state is ready when another disease outbreak comes knocking on our door.
“The bird flu is a great example," Polis said. "Colorado had to put down over a million birds that were infected. We've had several individuals that have tested positive for avian flu. So far, we haven't seen any human-to-human transmission, and we haven't seen severe health impacts on those people. But the minute we see that anybody, anywhere else, if there's a variant or a mutation, we need to know that right away here.”
Herlihy said one of the ways GOARN could help Colorado, for example, would be in establishing traveler monitoring systems from regions with infectious disease outbreaks so that the state gets a head start to respond to outbreaks before they make it to the state.
She also said belonging to GOARN could also help with making sure there is lab capacity and the right tests available should an outbreak occur in Colorado.
In a statement, the governor’s office said Colorado’s participation in GOARN comes “as states across the country seek reliable, science-based public health guidance” following the dismantling of the nation’s public health agencies at the federal level.
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Besides ending its relationship with the WHO, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a prominent vaccine skeptic — replaced the entire CDC panel last year and named several doctors and researchers who have repeatedly questioned the safety of commonly used vaccines and ingredients.
Under his purview, Kennedy has not only frozen or canceled billions in scientific research funding, but has more recently sought to reshape the nation’s childhood vaccination schedule. A judge earlier this month temporarily blocked the move, finding it violates procedure.
Colorado now joins other states like California, Illinois and New York in sidestepping the nation’s public health agencies to better prepare for potential public health threats.
Besides joining GOARN, Colorado last year joined the Governors Public Health Alliance — a “nonpartisan coordinating hub” of 14 state governors plus Guam that was formed in rebuke to President Donald Trump’s administration.
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