The recent decision by the Rio Blanco County Commissioners and Public Health to stop providing Covid vaccines through the taxpayer-funded public health department has raised valid questions about government overreach, personal freedom, and the right to choose. It’s exactly the same debate we all had (and are apparently going to have again) during the pandemic about mandates, just in reverse.
Debating covid vaccines is an exercise in futility. Everyone has access to too much information that suits any chosen narrative. This is the process by which we justify our beliefs and choices in life, whether it’s who we vote for, what church we attend, or what brands we buy at the store. It’s part of living in a free society, and most of the time it works. Individuals and privately-owned businesses have the right to choose how they live their lives and operate their establishments, within reason. Obviously, a serial killer burying people in the basement can’t shriek “but mah rights!” to avoid responsibility. And a business can’t lie in advertising, refuse to pay its vendors, or burn down its competitors’s offices and claim “freedom” as a valid excuse for shoddy practices.
A public health department, however, is funded through taxpayer dollars and should offer the same services any Colorado resident can expect to receive from any public health department in the state, regardless of the personal predilections of its staff or local elected officials. Instead of taking away someone’s right to NOT be vaccinated, this decision takes away someone’s right TO be vaccinated. How is this not the same kind of “government overreach” to which we loudly, frequently declare vehement opposition?
Someone may be able to access vaccines through another source, but that’s not an option for everyone. The uninsured, the underinsured, the elderly and those without reliable transportation may not have another option besides their local public health department, even if they are (or have been) gainfully employed, taxpaying contributors to the system for many years.
The county’s 2023 budget lists the following obligations under the Public Health Agency Fund: local public health, immunizations, WIC (Women-Infants-Children) nutrition and education program, child safety, ELC (epidemiology and laboratory capacity) for prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases, COVID immunizations, emergency preparedness and response, and environmental health.
Of the fund’s projected 2023 revenue of $585,193, the vast majority — 93.5% — comes from “intergovernmental” sources, state and federal funds, aka your tax dollars.
So what’s next on the chopping block?
