Yamhill Commissioners Back Off Threat To Health Department
YAMHILL, OR —It was the government procedural equivalent of a hostage situation.
The Yamhill County Health Department is in the process of renewing its accreditation by the national group of local government health boards. To do that, they need a certifying letter from the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners. Problem was that one of the three members of the board didn't want to grant the letter.
Commissioner Mary Starrett had made it clear recently that she is not pleased with how the department presents COVID-19 information on its website. She sent a letter demanding changes and told an audience that she was going withhhold the accreditation letter if need be.
One of the changes Starrett demanded was a section where they say that the county "strongly recommends that all Yamhill County residents get the COVID vaccine as a measure of protection for themselves and others."
Starrett falsely said that "this has been proven incorrect as most people contracting and spreading the virus are vaccinated."
She added that she wanted the health department to "REMOVE all references to 'safe and effective.'"
Starrett then wrongly claimed that "there are no Food and Drug Administration=approved COVID shots AVAILABLE or IN USE in the United States, and experimental drugs cannot claim to be 'safe and effective.'"
Starrett said that the health department must "present a more balanced approach to the prevailing narrative on our county website."
She provided a list of things that she would like added.
Natural Immunity Data
What constutes a breakthrough case?
Has the CDC stopped reporng breakthrough hospitalization and death data?
Is Comirnaty Fully Approved by the FDA
Statement that COVID shots available in the U.S. are experimental products
Safety questions are still unanswered and some will not be answered until 2027
Studies on safety of COVID-19 injections during pregnancy will not be completed until 12/31/25
At the board of commissioners meeting, which was held over Zoom because of health concerns, Starrett said that "as a public health department, we can be proactive about and not rubber-stamp the Fauci, OHA, prevailing narrative."
County Health and Human Services Director Dr. Lindsey Manfrin did her best to address the concerns of commissioners while not compromising her department.
She told them that the department had updated the website to include sections on using pulsomoters and oximeters, staying hydrated, using vitamins to help boost your immune system, and more.
Manfrin did draw a line about including information about using specific vitamins and other "treatments" to prevent or cure the virus.
"These are not proven to treat COVID," she said. "There's a risk and liability there for us and I think that the other piece is, where do we stop"
In the end, talk of withholding the letter for accreditation did not come up at the meeting though commissioners made Manfrin promise to make some changes to the website and come back.
This article originally appeared on the Across Oregon Patch
