MY TURN: A public health unraveling we cannot ignore

In the last few months, we’ve seen a troubling shift in federal health policy that will have direct consequences here in North Idaho and across the nation. Millions of Americans are facing the loss of health care coverage, while access to vaccines, the very tools that helped us push back deadly diseases, has been deliberately narrowed. The combination of these forces threatens not only the health of individuals but the stability of our health care system as a whole.

Recently, federal recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines in healthy children and pregnant women were rolled back. Pharmacies in many states now require prescriptions to provide boosters, and insurance coverage has become uncertain. In some places, these vaccines are no longer available at all. The cost barrier is staggering, over $200 per shot for those without coverage. At the same time, hundreds of millions of dollars in vaccine research and development contracts have been canceled.

Pair this with ongoing proposals to cut Medicaid coverage, and we are looking at a perfect storm: fewer people insured, fewer people vaccinated and greater exposure to diseases that are preventable. This will hit rural states like Idaho especially hard. Here, many families rely on Medicaid for children’s care, and community health centers play a vital role in providing access to vaccines and treatment. If both the safety net and preventative care tools are weakened at the same time, North Idaho families will be left with fewer options and higher risks.

Public health is not a partisan issue. Measles, polio, whooping cough and influenza do not check your voter registration before they spread. When vaccination rates fall and health care access declines, we all become more vulnerable. The ripple effects extend beyond our borders, too: outbreaks do not stay local, and when the United States backs away from science-based health leadership, it destabilizes global health partnerships and undermines trust worldwide.

We’ve made too much progress in medicine to turn back now. The question facing us in North Idaho, and across the country, is simple: Do we want our children and grandchildren to face the same preventable diseases that past generations fought so hard to eliminate? Or do we stand up now, insist on access to science-based care and protect the health of our communities?

The future of public health depends on the answer.

• • •

Tonya Coppedge is a Coeur d'Alene resident.