Central District Health in Boise votes to keep offering COVID vaccine. Barely
Central District Health has narrowly decided to continue offering the COVID-19 vaccine to residents within its four-county jurisdiction who want to pay for it.
Board members for the Boise-based public health agency voted 4-3 at a meeting Friday to table permanently any discussion about getting rid of that particular vaccine as part of its health services, according to a news release. The health district serves over 600,000 people in Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties.
Medical professionals and several members of the public weighed in on the issue at the meeting, which lasted more than four hours. The health district said it received hundreds of written comments ahead of the meeting.
The board members who voted in favor of no longer administering the vaccine at health district offices were Greg Ferch, the board chair and an Ada County chiropractor; Dr. Ryan Cole, a controversial Garden City pathologist whose stances against the vaccine, and falsehoods about it, have been well-publicized; and Clay Tucker, a Boise County commissioner.
Those who voted to keep offering the vaccine were Jane Young, a nurse practitioner from Ada County; Betty Ann Nettleton, a registered nurse from Elmore County; Crystal Rodgers, an Elmore County commissioner; and Katlin Caldwell, a Valley County commissioner.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people 6 months and older get the updated COVID-19 vaccine that was released last fall. But the shot is no longer free.
Most health insurances cover it, but the updated shots can cost about $200 out of pocket. Health districts are able to buy doses of the vaccine at a discount and sell it to uninsured residents for less than that. Since July 1, 2024, the health district has administered more than 300 COVID-19 shots, according to the news release.
In October, the nearby Southwest District Health, which serves over 300,000 people in Canyon, Adams, Gem, Owyhee, Payette and Washington counties, held a similar vote. There a slim majority of the health district’s board members decided to stop administering the vaccine at its clinics after a handful of doctors, including Cole, gave presentations at a lengthy meeting.
Southwest District Health received hundreds of public comments asking it to remove the vaccine from its programs. Many of the commenters mistakenly believed that taxpayer funds were used to provide the vaccine to residents for free.
