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Resident urges Arapahoe County Public Health to step up flu communications
Summary
A resident, Fiona Gao, told the board she found no county social-media posts mentioning 'flu' or 'influenza' this season and urged the department to increase public warnings and data sharing so vulnerable people can take precautions.
During the public-comment period, Fiona Gao of Centennial told the Arapahoe County Board of Health that the county is not adequately communicating about the current influenza season and urged staff to increase public messaging.
"I am here as a community member to say that in my estimation, Arapahoe County Public Health is not meeting this requirement," Gao said, citing what she described as zero Twitter/X posts this flu season containing the words "flu" or "influenza," limited Facebook mentions last in March 2025, no recent website outbreak trend posts, and sparse coverage on Nextdoor. Gao compared the county's communications to Tri-County Health Department and Adams County Public Health and asked the board to improve visibility so residents, including vulnerable people such as her mother with stage 4 breast cancer, can better protect themselves.
Board members thanked Gao for her comments and noted they listen to public input; staff did not provide a detailed rebuttal on the record but said they have data and communications channels and will follow up.
What happens next: board and staff acknowledged the concern; staff indicated they track communicable disease data and will consider how to increase visibility and add citations to materials when responding to public requests.
