The federal overhaul of a government vaccine committee has San Luis Obispo County’s Public Health Director Penny Borenstein concerned about the local availability of vaccines that can combat the new strain of the COVID-19 virus.
“There are lots of people who want to get the vaccine who will not be able to get it covered unless insurance companies decide that they’re going to continue cover it because the best thing for their bottom line is to not let people be hospitalized, not to let them go to the emergency room, or die from the disease,” Borenstein said at the Sept. 9 Board of Supervisors meeting. “[COVID-19] still remains one of the top 10 killers in America. What can happen right now is people can go and get last year’s vaccine, which was fully licensed, although there is probably very limited supply at this time.”
Between 119 and 1,047 Americans have died every week this year because of the virus, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In May, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on X that the COVID-19 vaccine has been removed from the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and healthy pregnant women, touting that it’s “common sense” and “good science.”
Further, the Food and Drug Administration licensed the latest round of COVID-19 vaccines only for people above 65 years of age and for those with underlying medical conditions.
“That is different than last year and the previous year where anyone 6 months or above had a vaccine available to them and at no cost,” Borenstein said.
Vaccines were free thanks to an organization of the CDC’s called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
In June, Kennedy fired the entire panel of 17 medical and public health experts who create recommendations on the use of vaccines in the country. A prominent anti-vaccine proponent, Kennedy appointed replacements that included several vaccine skeptics.
The newly formed committee is expected to convene on Sept. 18 and 19, where they could make recommendations on the new COVID-19 vaccine.
Borenstein told supervisors it’s “reasonably likely” that the committee won’t recommend the vaccine for people 6 months and above, and it would probably stick with the FDA’s licensure actions. That means if the committee doesn’t recommend the vaccine for other demographics, then insurance companies won’t be required to cover it.
She added that last year’s vaccine, which was fully licensed, is still effective against the new strain.
County Health Agency spokesperson Olivia Montiano told New Times that residents can continue to access vaccines from pharmacies, physician’s offices, and public health clinics as usual.
Anecdotally, she said, fewer pediatric offices plan to offer COVID-19 vaccines.
“With the FDA’s action to de-license or de-authorize the COVID-19 seasonal vaccine for many population groups—especially those at higher risk of severe disease, such as infants and toddlers and pregnant women—there is concern that we may see worse disease outcomes in the coming year,” Montiano said.
Borenstein’s comments before the board arrived in light of the supervisors unanimously and retroactively approving an almost $490,000 grant from the state Department of Public Health’s immunization program. The money—meant for the period between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2027—helps local health departments to manage vaccine-preventable diseases.
In his periodic newsletter, Second District Supervisor Bruce Gibson labeled the approval as “taking on RFK Jr.’s quackery.”
“This is especially crucial now, as Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy’s reign of science-denial and incompetence at the federal level threatens to undo a century of progress in protecting the public’s health,” he wrote.
At Gibson’s request, the supervisors agreed to return in October when they’ll discuss a report prepared by Borenstein on vaccine availability and other aspects of supply. ∆
This article appears in Student Guide 2025.