Southwest District Health, a regional public health department in Idaho, is no longer allowed to provide COVID-19 vaccines to residents in six counties along the Idaho-Oregon border.
During an October 22 meeting, the health department’s board voted 4-3 to ban the administration of a vaccine that protects against the virus that causes COVID-19.
The number of people receiving COVID-19 vaccines in the health district, which includes three counties in the Boise metropolitan area, has declined from 1,601 shots given in 2021 to 64 so far this year.
Idaho state health department spokesperson AJ McWhorter declined to comment on “public health district business” to The Associated Press (AP). McWhorter did say, however, that COVID-19 vaccines are still available at community health centers for people who are uninsured.
Arguments on the COVID-19 Vaccine Ban
Board members who voted for the ban argued that people can get vaccinated for the virus elsewhere and that providing COVID-19 vaccines was equivalent to approving their safety.
All COVID-19 vaccines on the market have either been approved or authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Researchers estimated that almost 20 million lives were saved by COVID-19 vaccines during their first year in circulation. Despite evidence of the vaccines’ safety, there has been skepticism of the vaccines’ effects due to misinformation that has been floated.
Dr. Perry Jansen, Southwest’s medical director, testified to the vaccine’s necessity at the October 22 meeting.
“Our request of the board is that we would be able to carry and offer those (vaccines), recognizing that we always have these discussions of risks and benefits,” he said. “This is not a blind, everybody-gets-a-shot approach. This is a thoughtful approach.”
Meanwhile, there were over 290 public comments made at the board’s meeting that opposed Jansen’s plea.
Board Chairman ‘Disappointed’ in Decision
Board Chairman Kelly Aberasturi, said in the meeting and to the AP that he was supportive of the board’s decision to ban the COVID-19 vaccines but also “disappointed” in it.
Aberasturi, who is skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines and national public health leaders, said the board overstepped the relationship between patients and their doctors. He added that the decision could open the door to blocking other vaccines or treatments.
Jansen and Aberasturi said that people getting vaccinated at Southwest District Health had no other options. Those that the health department helped included people without housing, people who are homebound, people in long-term care facilities and people in the immigration process.
“I’ve been homeless in my lifetime, so I understand how difficult it can be when you’re…trying to get by and get ahead,” Aberasturi said. “This is where we should be stepping in and helping.
The chairman added: “But we have some board members who have never been there, so they don’t understand what it’s like.”
Aberasturi said he plans to ask during the next board meeting if Southwest District Health can at least be allowed to vaccinate older patients and residents of long-term care facilities.
Southwest District Health Becomes First to Ban Vaccine
With the board’s decision, the health department appears to be the first in the country to be restricted from giving the COVID-19 shot.
“I’m not aware of anything else like this,” Adriane Casalotti, chief of government and public affairs for the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said.
Casalotti said health departments have stopped offering the COVID-19 vaccine before due to cost or low demand but not based on “a judgment of the medical product itself.”
Texas did ban health departments from promoting the vaccine and Florida’s surgeon general did recommend against getting the vaccine, but Southwest District Health’s new move seems to be the first outright ban.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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