Nurse warns that county jail healthcare contractor opposes vaccines and may increase preventable illness

At the October meeting of the Washington County Quorum Court, Wendy Finn, a registered nurse with a master's in public health, told court members she was concerned the county detention health provider does not recommend vaccinations and that approach could increase illnesses and hospitalizations.

Finn said statewide data show high levels of flu hospitalizations ("3,380 people hospitalized with the flu" in Arkansas last year) and 179 flu deaths, and she said Arkansas is seeing its highest pertussis (whooping cough) numbers since 2013. She also cited a statewide rise in congenital syphilis and said the Arkansas Department of Health reported five times the number of babies born with congenital syphilis from 2017 to 2023, with 23 infant deaths in that period.

Finn said the current health care provider for the detention facilities, whom she identified as Rob Karas, "does not recommend vaccinations at all." She said Karas's social media posts and his stated approaches list treatments such as doxycycline, elderberry, ivermectin and vitamin D for influenza, and she warned that routinely treating viral flu with antibiotics is ineffective and can contribute to antibiotic resistance.

Why it matters: Finn argued that a provider who does not recommend evidence-based vaccines could increase preventable hospitalizations and deaths among detained people and raise overall county health care costs. She urged county leaders to consider the public-health implications of the county's contract for jail health services.

The transcript captures Finn's public comment but does not record a county response or an immediate policy change during the excerpt provided.