The Idaho Department of Health is no longer authorized to administer COVID-19 vaccines. Experts say this is the first time

The Idaho Regional Department of Public Health is no longer providing COVID-19 vaccines to residents of six counties after a narrow decision by its board.

The South West District Health Department appears to be the first in the country to be prohibited from administering COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccination is an important function of the public health department.

While politicians in Texas have blocked health departments from promoting COVID vaccines, and Florida’s surgeon general has bucked medical consensus by recommending against the vaccine, government agencies across the country have not blocked vaccines entirely.

“I don’t know of anything else like this,” said Adriana Casalotti, director of government and public affairs for the National Association of County and City Health Officials. She said health departments stopped offering the vaccine because of cost or low demand, but not based on “an assessment of the medical product itself.”

The six-county district on the Idaho-Oregon border includes three counties in the Boise metropolitan area. Demand for COVID vaccines in the health district has decreased, from 1,601 vaccines in 2021 to 64 in 2024. The same is true for other vaccines: Idaho has the highest childhood exemption rate in the country, followed last year by the Southwest District. The health department raced to contain a rare measles outbreak that sickened 10 people.

On Oct. 22, the health department board voted 4-3 in favor of the ban, despite Southwest’s medical director affirming the need for the vaccine.

“Our request to the board is that we can carry and offer these (vaccines) while recognizing that we always have these discussions about risks and benefits,” Dr. Perry Jansen said at the meeting. “It’s not a blind approach that everyone can get a chance. It’s a thoughtful approach.”

In opposition to Jansen’s call, there were more than 290 public comments, many of which called for an end to vaccine mandates or an end to taxpayer funding for vaccines, neither of which are happening in the county. At the meeting, many of the speakers were nationally known for testifying against COVID vaccines, including Dr. Peter McCullough, a Texas cardiologist who sells “infection emergency kits” that include ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

Board Chair Kelly Aberasturi was familiar with many voices advocating for the ban, especially from previous local protests against pandemic measures.

Aberasturi, 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 was supportive but “disappointed” in the board’s decision.

He said the board had overstepped the boundaries of the relationship between patients and their doctors and may have opened the door to blocking other vaccines or treatments.

Council members who supported the decision argued that people could get vaccinated elsewhere and that providing the shots amounted to signing a contract to ensure their safety. (Some people may be reluctant to get vaccinated or re-vaccinated because of misinformation about vaccines, despite evidence that they are safe and have saved millions of lives.)

People vaccinated by the health department, including people without housing, people who are homebound and those in long-term care facilities or in the immigration process, had no other choice, Jansen and Aberasturi said.

“I’ve been homeless my whole life, so I understand how difficult it can be when you’re … trying to survive and succeed,” Aberasturi said. “This is where we need to step in and help.

“But we have board members who have never been there, so they don’t understand what it’s like.”

State health officials said they are “encouraging people to consider the COVID-19 vaccine.” Idaho Department of Health spokesman AJ McWhorter declined to comment on “public health district matters,” but noted that COVID-19 vaccines are still available at community health centers for uninsured people.

Aberasturi said he plans to ask at the next board meeting whether the health department could be allowed to at least vaccinate older patients and residents of long-term care facilities, adding that the board should be concerned about “the health and well-being of the people.” » residents of the area. “But I think we approached this issue in a way that didn’t do our due diligence.”