(Idaho Statesman) — The Southwest District Health Department will no longer offer COVID-19 vaccines to residents who wish to pay.
Health district board members voted 4-3 after several anti-vaccine doctors, including Dr. Ryan Cole, who serves on the Central District Board of Health, gave presentations during a lengthy meeting Tuesday night. He voted to stop administering vaccines at clinics. . Before the meeting, the board received hundreds of public comments asking the health district to remove the vaccine from the program.
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Dr. Perry Jansen, the health district’s medical director, gave the only presentation in support of continuing to provide COVID-19 vaccines. The health district serves more than 300,000 people in Canyon, Adams, Gem, Owyhee, Payette and Washington counties.
“I think the main thing we want to emphasize is that we believe in freedom of treatment choice for patients,” Janssen said. “We’re not talking about vaccine mandates or anything like that, we’re talking about the ability of patients to work with their doctors to make decisions for their health.”
Dr. John Tribble, the board’s sole physician, said the vaccine “poses far greater risks than benefits” and called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation for vaccination “patently unreasonable.” .
The CDC recommends that people 6 months and older get the latest coronavirus vaccines released this fall.
“Given the population’s weakened immunity due to past exposure to the virus and previous vaccinations, we are seeking updated coronavirus vaccinations to provide better protection against currently circulating variants. I highly recommend anyone who is qualified to consider it,” said Director Dr. Peter Marks. A statement from the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said:
In his presentation, Janssen acknowledged a variety of rare but harmful effects associated with vaccines and noted that the benefits outweigh the potential risks. For example, he noted that cases of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, have been observed in young men who received mRNA vaccines (Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech), especially after the second dose. The CDC says such cases are rare and most patients’ symptoms disappear by the time they are discharged from the hospital.
“In this group (ages 18 to 29), the risk of dying from COVID-19 is very low, but it’s much higher, much higher, than the risk of developing myocarditis,” Janssen said. “So you have to balance those risks.”
Although the number of hospitalizations and deaths related to the virus is now lower than it was a few years ago, the virus is still circulating and “people are still dying from COVID-19,” he said. Ta.
Boise saw a spike in COVID-19 levels in its wastewater in early September, according to the city’s dashboard. Since the state and its health districts no longer track the number of positive cases, wastewater testing has become a useful tool for tracking local spread.
Tribble argued at the meeting that this is not a personal liberty issue because the health district is not the sole provider of the coronavirus vaccine.
“You can get this for free at Walmart,” Tribble said, not mentioning that it’s only free at those stores if you have insurance. “If we continue to propose this, we are tacitly endorsing these shots even though we shouldn’t be. We are here to protect our people. I’m here.”
Jansen noted that vaccines are no longer free. Although covered by most health insurance plans, the latest injections cost about $200 out-of-pocket. Health districts can purchase vaccines at a discount and provide them to uninsured residents at lower prices.
The federal program previously covered costs for people who were uninsured or underinsured.
David Wiseman, a bioscientist who previously led research and development programs at Johnson & Johnson, attended the meeting remotely via video conference and said patients should have the freedom to choose whether to receive the vaccine. He told the board that he agreed with Mr. Jansen’s opinion. His issue, he said, is whether vaccinations should be funded by the health district.
Jansen spoke up again to clarify that the vaccine is not subsidized by the health district. Patients pay for the injections themselves, and most come to the hospital for the injections.
“We’re not using people’s tax dollars to buy vaccines to give to people,” Jansen said.
He reminded the Board that there is consensus in the scientific and medical community that COVID-19 vaccines are broadly safe and effective. He also told the board that “frankly, you are not qualified” to decide whether the vaccine is safe.
Still, the board ultimately decided to stop offering it after hearing conspiratorial presentations from multiple doctors accused of spreading misinformation about COVID-19.
In his presentation, McCullough argued that vaccines are making people infected with the coronavirus.
“Doctors like me see patient after patient who has received the coronavirus vaccine, but because the vaccine doesn’t work, they also get infected with the coronavirus,” McCullough said. .
Nearly three hours into the meeting, Board Chair and Trustee Kelly Aberasturi said the same presentation had been presented to the board several years ago and urged the presenters to “get it done as soon as possible.” I want it,” he requested.
After the presentation, Payette County Commissioner Jennifer Reeve spoke in favor of continuing to offer vaccines at the health district’s clinics.
“I just want to remind you that there are a lot of taxpayers in our district who want to come here and get the vaccine,” Liebe said. “I think you’re speaking for taxpayers who don’t want the vaccine. Our constituency is broader than that.”
Liebe expressed concern that the board will pursue other vaccines next, such as measles, polio and shingles vaccines. The health district offers more than a dozen vaccines against diseases that can lead to hospitalization and death, especially for infants, young children and the elderly.
“I’m not happy with it,” she said.
Tribble, the physician representative, was among the board members who voted not to administer vaccines at the health district office. Viki Purdy, Adams County Executive Board Representative; Zach Brooks, Canyon County Commissioner; and Gem County Commissioner Bill Butich. Payette County Commissioner Liebe voted against the bill. Mr. Aberasturi, Owyhee County Board Chairman and Commissioner. and Washington County Board Vice Chairman Lyndon Haynes.
By law, district health boards in Idaho must have a representative from each county in the district and a physician if available.
COVID-19 vaccines are still available at other pharmacies and medical clinics in the county served by the health district.
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