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Commissioners punt on vaccine promotion proposal

The Warren County Commissioners have tabled for two weeks action on a proposal to use American Rescue Plan funds to undertake a COVID-19 vaccination promotion effort.

Commissioner Jeff Eggleston made the proposal at Monday’s work session and it came before the rest of the board for action at Wednesday’s meeting.

He suggested that the county use a portion of its American Rescue Plan funds — approximately $22,000 — to build a series of promotions that highlight “local voices” and the “recommendation of folks in the community” to boost vaccination efforts.

Improving the rate, he said, is an effort at “shoring up what is a huge liability for the county as long as the county stays at a low vaccination rate.”

Commissioner Ben Kafferlin cautioned that this proposal isn’t a vaccine or mask mandate.

“I can certainly appreciate the desire to do something,” he said. “We have largely felt powerless to do anything related to this virus really from day one.”

Kafferlin said, though, that such an effort is “not likely to be effective in my opinion; mainly because people have made up their minds.”

He said he’s received messages from eight in favor and 22 opposed.

He suggested that such a campaign is not “in our scope of work as the county government” and further claimed that he isn’t qualified to endorse a vaccine or not. “(I) don’t think there’s any point in really arguing about it,” he said.

Commissioner Tricia Durbin reiterated that she’s had people reach out to her and ask how they can share their experience.

She said she’s also looked at “some statistical evidence. Those being treated in an inpatient setting most often are unvaccinated.”

She added she’d be interested in “giving an education to what is going on in our community” and said she’d be willing to work with Eggleston to find a “different way to approach this.”

“To me, it’s pretty simple,” Eggleston said. “I don’t know what there is to discuss. … It’s become an uncomfortable subject and I understand that.”

He cited the county code which he claimed gives the commissioners the a responsibility to act to protect public health.

“Every major medical institution in the US supports this. Period,” he said. “It’s unequivocal so I’m not inventing information.”

What he proposed is “based on all the information that is available … If nobody wants to do that, (if it’s) too controversial a position, then we vote on it. Then everyone knows where we stand.

“All I really want to do is try to encourage people to get vaccinated. (It’s a) smart decision. It’s the right decision. All the empirical data … says you should get vaccinated.”

Durbin said she’s had health care professionals approach her and convey that someone “needs to really relate the facts” about what is happening in the healthcare system. She said the message would be “only intended for people that are considering it (and) want to understand more what is going on in the community.”

“As long as the information, factual information (is) shared, that’s all I’m concerned about,” Eggleston said.

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