Riley County has received an invitation by the state Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on an upcoming hearing.
The hearing is not on current legislation, but for a pending bill giving counties the authority to follow their own vaccine pathway. County Counselor Clancy Holeman says this is spawned from recent events involving both Riley and Sedgewick Counties.
The issue stems from the vaccination phases currently ongoing in the county. Originally, the county health department believed the guidance coming from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment were just that, and not perceived to be mandates.
“There was a webinar released by the state for the first time saying these state phases are not just guidelines, they are rules the counties have to follow. First time being said,” says Holeman.
Holeman says the health department proceeded treating these as guidelines and made its own independent judgement led by Local Health Officer Julie Gibbs. The rationale was that the county had vaccinated enough people in the Phase 2 to move on to Phase 3, while still helping those in the current phase. Because of this, the county was contacted for the first time by KDHE.
As a result, KDHE halted the distribution of vaccines to the county until the health department was in compliance. Gibbs came up with a plan shortly after to resume distribution.
“Julie [Gibbs] made it clear in here view, she couldn’t continue to vaccinate the remainder of Phase 2 without serious health conditions and minimal danger of contracting the virus,” says Holeman.
Holeman asked the commission if they would approve for Gibbs to testify. He admitted there are some risks going against KDHE, but they outweigh the risks of not getting vaccines.
Commission Chairman John Ford says he is angry at the actions KDHE took. Looking to other counties, Ford has seen some not leave Phase 1 at this time. He says he thought it was a reporting issue at first, but now not so much.
“I haven’t crossed too many thresholds during this pandemic, but this one I have,” says Ford.
Commissioner Kathryn Focke urged caution going in front of a senate committee. Her reasoning is the trouble the county has experienced coming down from the state level.
Ford responded saying he thinks the professional insight Gibbs can provide will help the committee work with KDHE at the state level.
Gibbs is set to testify via Zoom on Monday.
