OPINION: Little blurts out the truth about vaccinations

Idaho Gov. Brad Little committed pundit Michael Kinsley’s definition of a political gaffe on Tuesday.

Inadvertently or not, the governor spoke the truth.

During an AARP town hall meeting, a viewer asked Little: “Are you concerned your opposition to vaccine mandates is harming the state’s efforts to get the population vaccinated?”

“Yes,” the governor replied. “That’s my short answer. ... We continue to do all we can to reach out to encourage people.”

Little has blocked state agencies and colleges and universities from imposing vaccination mandates. He’s also obstructing President Joe Biden’s efforts. Little joined Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, and Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, in threatening a lawsuit against Biden’s plan to force businesses with at least 100 workers to make vaccinations a condition of employment.

But give the governor points for candor. What he’s doing is not working. He doesn’t deny it.

Under Little’s leadership, Idaho remains the third least vaccinated state in the union. Because of that, Idaho’s hospitals are flooded with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients. Forced to operate under crisis standards of care, hospitals may ration life-saving treatment based on which patients have the best prospect for survival.

Meanwhile:

l COVID-19 hospitalizations are setting records. Late last week, 774 Idahoans were hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 760 just a week before. Among them were 207 people in intensive care units.

l The state reported 37 new COVID-19 deaths.

l It’s going to get much worse. An Idaho Department of Health and Welfare model predicts a worst-case scenario of 1,900 COVID-19 hospitalizations each week by the end of November. At the same time, the state may expect up to 305 COVID-19 fatalities a week — more than double what Idaho recorded as of the week of Sept. 20.

But then the governor strayed from the truth. He said mandates don’t work.

“People have to want to do the right things,” Little said. “Mandates have not been the panacea. What works best is if people choose to do the right thing.”

Tell that to the people of Pullman, where 75 percent of Washington State University students — including 82 percent living on campus — have complied with a university vaccination mandate. “The reason why this is really encouraging and why I would almost get up and do the happy dance is because this puts us above the threshold we need for herd immunity,” Joel Schwartzkopf, executive director of Cougar Health Services, recently told the Lewiston Tribune’s William L. Spence. “This is exactly what we need when we plan for an in-person classroom experience.”

Tell that to United Airlines, which notched 99 percent compliance among the 65,000 employees who were required to get vaccinated as of Monday.

Tell that to the 25,000 employees of Houston Methodist Hospital, which reached 98 percent compliance with a vaccination requirement as of late July.

Tell that to Idaho employers — such as Micron Tech in Boise, the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls or hospitals in Boise — who also want their workers vaccinated.

And tell that to the American public. A CNN poll in mid-September found 54 percent support for mandating vaccinations in the workplace, 55 percent support for requiring vaccinations for students attending in-person classes as well as those attending concerts or sporting events.

What’s problematic for Little is his political base. Increasingly, Republicans don’t like being told what do, especially when it involves vaccinations. His primary election opponent, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, has no problem playing politics with this issue.

What’s worse?

Someone, such as McGeachin, who gives every indication of being sincerely ignorant about protecting the public from this deadly pandemic?

Or a governor who knows better, yet chooses to prioritize his political prospects above the public’s health? — M.T.