BOISE, Idaho — Three candidates were interviewed for an open position on the Central District Health (CDH) Board on Monday. The position has been open since former member Dr. Ted Epperly was abruptly let go by Ada County Commissioners in June.
The candidates for the open position are:
- Dr. Stanley Moss: A retired orthopedic surgeon based in Meridian
- Dr. Sky Blue: An infectious disease expert and epidemiologist with Sawtooth Epidemiology and Infectious Disease. Blue was nominated for the board in January but was ultimately not appointed after Ada County Commissioner Chairman Rod Beck and Commissioner Ryan Davidson voted to appoint former U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador.
- Dr. Ryan Cole: Owns and operates a testing lab in Garden City called Cole Diagnostics. He received statewide attention following statements he made to state lawmakers about COVID-19. The statements drew criticism from some Idaho physicians, including the chief medical officer for St. Luke's.
It is important to note that none of the candidates are affiliated with a political party.
Before commissioners held the open interviews, members of the public were able to write in and give feedback on the candidates for the open position. More than 3,000 emails were received, dating back to May 2021. All of the emails received can be accessed here.
Ada County Commissioners are expected to make their final decision for the appointment on Tuesday.
Blue was interviewed by commissioners first on Monday. Commissioner Kendra Kenyon asked Blue what he thought about Central District Health's role in trying to get the community vaccinated, to which he said:
Strategy without tactics is the slowest road to victory but tactics without strategy are the noise before defeat. So vaccinations, I would say, is a tactic, and if anything I would have to look at the strategy which, at least based on the vision and the mission of Central District Health, is to promote and protect the health of our communities. The data that came out from the state from May to July shows that 95% of the cases occur in the unvaccinated, 95% of the hospitalizations are in the unvaccinated, 95% in the unvaccinated. So, if we had to look at a tactic to help promote and protect the health of our communities, you have to look at vaccination in that strategy.
Moss was the second candidate to be interviewed on Monday. During his interview, he discussed his experience outside of orthopedics and said he is well-versed and educated on health issues outside of his practice.
He was also asked about Idaho's vaccine rollout and emphasized the effectiveness and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. He also said the freedom for individuals to choose whether to get the vaccine is an "overriding principle" for him:
96% of all physicians in the United States have now been vaccinated, but only 60% of the population in general. So why is that big discrepancy? That discrepancy, in my mind, is because the physicians understand the safety and the efficacy and want to end this pandemic. And if the general population had the same information and confidence in the vaccine, those rates of vaccination would be much higher. But, I do not agree with any attempt to coerce or force or threaten people that they have to get the vaccine. It's a matter of educating them and then they'll make the wrong [or] correct choice. Now, if you give people freedom of choice, there's always those who make the incorrect choice, but with education, that number becomes quite small, I think, as people understand how safe and effective this is. And they want the pandemic to end, they will choose voluntarily to get vaccine and that will solve the problem with the pandemic of COVID-19.
Overall, Moss said he wants to get the facts and context of the vaccine data out to the public.
The final interview conducted was with Cole, who drew attention for comments he made about the COVID-19 vaccine and the state's handling of the pandemic. Some claim Cole's comments are anti-vaccine, but in an interview earlier this year, Cole told KTVB he is not anti-vaccine.
On Monday, he did, however, acknowledge some concerns about the long-term effects of the vaccine due to the use of mRNA technology:
Health freedom is critical. Literally, physical integrity. It's your body, it is your choice, you should be able to be a responsible citizen, but a free citizen, to make the health decisions that are best for you. We as a community should help people make those, but I think forcing things in genders, distrust, Delta has escaped what we're doing. We need to society-pivot right now. Delta, if we look at the data from around the world, look at Israel: 80-90% of people in the ICU are double-vaccinated. So we're giving vaccines right now for something that was four variants ago. It's like saying to your hospital employees, 'Alright flu seasons coming. Let's give you the flu shot. Oh by the way we have some leftover vials from four years ago in the freezer.' You wouldn't do that.
Ada County Commissioners are expected to make their final decision on the open position on the health board on Tuesday.
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