A regional public health department in Idaho is no longer providing COVID-19 vaccines to residents in six counties after a narrow decision by its board.
Southwest District Health appears to be the first in the nation to be restricted from giving COVID-19 vaccines.
Vaccinations are an essential function of a public health department.
Demand for COVID vaccines in the health district has declined — with 1,601 given in 2021 to 64 so far in 2024.
Idaho health department spokesperson AJ McWhorter declined to comment on “public health district business,” but noted that COVID-19 vaccines are still available at community health centers for people who are uninsured.
Following a narrow board decision, a regional public health department in Idaho has decided to stop distributing COVID-19 vaccines to citizens in six counties.
It seems that Southwest District Health is the first in the country to be prohibited from administering the COVID-19 vaccine. One crucial role of a public health department is vaccinations.
Adriane Casalotti, chief of government and public affairs for the National Association of County and City Health Officials, stated, “I don’t know of anything else like this.”. According to her, health departments have ceased providing the vaccine due to low demand or cost, not because of “a judgment of the medical product itself.”. “.”.
Three counties in the Boise metropolitan area are part of the six-county district that runs along the Idaho-Oregon border. The health district’s demand for COVID vaccines has decreased, from 1,601 administered in 2021 to 64 administered thus far in 2024. This also applies to other vaccines: the Southwest District Health Department hurried to contain a rare measles outbreak that sickened ten people last year, and Idaho has the highest childhood vaccination exemption rate in the country.
Oct. While Southwest’s medical director attested to the vaccine’s necessity, the health department’s board voted 4-3 in favor of the ban on 22.
Dr. Perry Jansen stated during the meeting, “We would like to be able to carry and offer those (vaccines), acknowledging that we always have these discussions of risks and benefits.”. “This is not an all-out, blind strategy. This is a methodical strategy. “.”.
More than 290 public comments were made in opposition to Jansen’s request, many of which demanded that the district stop requiring vaccines or paying for them with taxpayer money. Several speakers at the meeting are well-known across the country for going around testifying against COVID vaccines. One such speaker is Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiologist from Texas who sells “contagion emergency kits” that contain ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, two medications that have not been approved to treat COVID-19 and can have harmful side effects.
Kelly Aberasturi, the chairman of the board, knew many of the voices calling for the ban, particularly from past local demonstrations against pandemic measures.
Aberasturi expressed his skepticism towards COVID-19 vaccines and national public health leaders in an interview with The Associated Press. He stated during the meeting that he was “disappointed” but supportive of the board’s decision.
In addition to potentially opening the door to blocking other vaccines or treatments, he claimed the board had overreached itself in the relationship between patients and their doctors.
Members of the board who supported the decision contended that giving the shots was the same as approving their safety and that people could get vaccinated elsewhere. Despite proof that the shots are safe and have saved millions of lives, some people may be hesitant to get vaccinated or boosted due to false information about them. ).
There were no other options available to those receiving vaccinations at the health department, including those without housing, homebound, in long-term care facilities, or undergoing the immigration process, according to Jansen and Aberasturi.
“Having experienced homelessness myself, I know how challenging it can be to be homeless. attempting to make ends meet and move forward,” Aberasturi remarked. “We ought to intervene and offer assistance in this situation.
However, some of our board members are unfamiliar with the experience because they have never been there. “..”.
According to state health officials, they “suggest that individuals think about getting the COVID-19 vaccine.”. A spokesman for the Idaho health department, AJ McWhorter, declined to comment on “public health district business,” but he did mention that uninsured individuals can still get COVID-19 vaccinations at community health centers.
Aberasturi stated that he intends to inquire at the upcoming board meeting about the possibility of granting the health department permission to vaccinate elderly patients and long-term care facility residents. The board is tasked with overseeing the “health and well-being” of the district’s inhabitants. However, I think that we didn’t exercise due diligence in the way we approached this matter. “,”.
