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.
The South-West District Health appears to be the first district in the country to be banned from administering COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccination is an essential function of the public health department.
While policymakers in Texas banned health departments from promoting COVID vaccines and Florida’s surgeon general rejected the medical consensus to recommend against the vaccine, government bodies across the country are promoting the vaccines. Not blocked completely.
“I’m not aware of anything else like this,” said Adrian Casalotti, head of government and public affairs for the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
He said health departments have stopped offering the vaccine because of cost or low demand, but not based on a “medical product decision.”
The six-county district on the Idaho–Oregon border includes three counties in the Boise metropolitan area.
Demand for COVID vaccines has declined in the health district — from 1,601 in 2021 to 64 given so far in 2024. The same is true for other vaccines: Idaho has the highest childhood vaccination exemption rates in the country, and last year, the Southwest District Health Department was quick to stop a rare measles outbreak that sickened 10 people.
On October 22, the health department’s board voted 4–3 in favor of a ban – despite testimony by Southwest’s medical director about the need for the vaccine.
“Our request to the board is that we will be able to move and offer those (vaccines), assuming we always have a discussion of the risks and benefits,” Dr. Perry Jensen said at the meeting. “This is not an indiscriminate, one-shot-everyone approach. This is a thoughtful approach.”
There were more than 290 public comments in opposition to Jensen’s petition, many of which called for vaccine mandates or ending taxpayer funding of vaccines, neither of which are happening in the district.
At the meeting, several people spoke who are nationally known for testifying against COVID vaccines, including Dr. Peter McCullough, a Texas cardiologist who sells “infection emergency kits.” These include ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine – drugs that have not been approved. Treat COVID-19 and it can have dangerous side effects.
Board Chairman Kelly Abarsturi was familiar with the many voices that wanted restrictions, particularly from earlier local protests of pandemic measures.
Abersturi, who told The Associated Press he is skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines and national public health leaders, said at the meeting and in an interview with the AP that he supported the board’s decision but was “disappointed.” Were.
He said the board has sabotaged relationships between patients and their doctors — and potentially opened the door to blocking other vaccines or treatments.
Board members in favor of the decision argued that people can get vaccinated elsewhere, and providing the shots is equivalent to signing away their protection. (Some people may be reluctant to get vaccinated or get vaccinated because of misinformation about vaccines, despite evidence that they are safe and have saved millions of lives.)
People who got vaccinated at the health department — including people without housing, homebound people and people in long-term care facilities or in the immigration process — had no other options, Jensen and Abarsturi said.
“I’ve been homeless most of my lifetime, so I understand how difficult it can be when you’re … trying to move forward and move forward,” Ebersturi said. “This is where we must come forward and help.
“But we have some members on our board who have never been there, so they don’t understand what it’s like.”
State health officials have said they “recommend that people consider the COVID-19 vaccine.” Idaho Health Department spokesperson AJ McWhorter declined to comment on “public health district business,” but said COVID-19 vaccines are still available at community health centers for those who have insurance. Not there.
Abersturi said he plans to ask at the next board meeting whether the Department of Health could be allowed to vaccinate at least older patients and residents of long-term care facilities, adding that the board needs “health and welfare” of the residents of the district. “But I believe the way we went about this thing shows we did not do due diligence.”
