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Public commenters urge board to act on vaccine injuries; others oppose mandated cultural-competency CE
Summary
Members of the public urged the board to respond to alleged vaccine injuries tied to pharmacy-administered vaccinations and another commenter opposed newly required cultural-competency continuing education; the board took no immediate regulatory action on either subject.
Two public-comment themes drew the board's attention: calls to address alleged harms from COVID-19 vaccines administered in pharmacies, and objections to a newly required cultural-competency continuing-education (CE) requirement.
Julie Threet, who said she represents people who identify as vaccine-injured, told the board she has spoken previously and cited Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) counts she said increased from 24,781 to 26,912 since her last appearance, and said the reported deaths rose from 74 to 90. She asked whether the board follows up with patients reported in adverse-event records and urged action on vaccines administered in pharmacies. Threet also described two specific VAERS reports involving a 14-year-old and an 8-year-old; she said one child lost consciousness at a pharmacy and a pharmacist administered an incorrect childhood dose to another child.
A second public commenter, Matt McCarthy, identified himself as a pharmacist in Santa Rosa and spoke in opposition to the board's new cultural competency CE requirement (he referenced legislative origins and said he believed it was narrowly focused on LGBTQ issues and constitutionally problematic). McCarthy urged that the training not require affirmation or promotion of a viewpoint and argued for broader, non-ideological cultural competency instruction.
Board members did not take formal regulatory action during public comment. Claudia Mercado, a newly appointed board member, asked clarifying questions about inventory and about whether the board could access information about available products; board staff said inventory decisions are typically business decisions or wholesaler-controlled quotas. Members and staff noted that public comment on regulatory matters will be considered in appropriate agenda items and that, where applicable, follow-up would occur in committee or staff reports.
