The Kitsap Public Health District was notified March 27 of the termination of a grant for immunization efforts through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The grant began Jan. 1 and was scheduled to run through June 30. Prior to the pause, KPHD had used the funding to administer 190 vaccine doses, Lynn Pittsinger said, division director of community health at KPHD. As of April 10, funding has been restored to DOH, a letter obtained by public records request to KPHD says.

On April 18, KPHD was notified funding had been secured for two additional vaccine clinics for kids held April 28 and 29. As of April 28, the agency is waiting to secure funding before scheduling additional clinics or continuing work on the immunization survey as a result of the funding uncertainty, Pittsinger said.

Pittsinger said KPHD cannot definitively say how many community members could be affected by paused vaccination clinics. In the interim, the district is encouraging residents to visit other providers as needed.

“We are awaiting updates from DOH regarding the status of the federal grant funding before we announce any changes to clinic operations,” Pittsinger said.

Pittsinger discussed the local impact of the funding uncertainty regarding cancelled March clinics.

“It didn’t just impact COVID vaccines; it impacted the ability to deliver all those vaccines to individuals in those clinics. And then again, the immunization survey,” she said.

No staff reductions or funding cuts have occurred at KPHD as a result of the funding pause, Pittsinger said.

“We certainly keep an eye on what is happening legislatively, and we do feel supported by our state legislators in the importance of health within our communities and public health,” she said.

Pittsinger said the DOH serves as the intermediary for distributing federal grants to local health agencies like KPHD.

“There’s a whole group of funding sources from those agencies. And again, they’re going to hit at the state level first, and then they would pass that on,” she said.

On March 24, DOH received notification from the CDC that several pandemic-related grants, totaling at least $140 million, were being immediately terminated. The funding has supported critical public health systems, including disease monitoring, reporting, and vaccine efforts for COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses, per DOH.

On April 17, a federal district court held a preliminary injunction hearing regarding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ termination of five pandemic-related grants, which were initially rescinded on March 24. As a result of the hearing, the existing temporary restraining order remains in effect, preserving $11 billion in public health funding nationwide, including at least $140 million allocated to the Washington state DOH. The TRO had been extended through at least April 29, pending additional briefing on the preliminary injunction, DOH says.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray provided the following statement to Kitsap News Group.

“President Trump’s sudden and senseless decision to rip away billions of dollars in CDC funding that had already been awarded to states, Tribes, and localities across the country—including Kitsap County—is an outrageous attack on the health and safety of our communities,” she said. “This is funding that Congress passed to help our communities address emerging public health threats, tackle the mental health crisis, connect people to substance abuse treatment, and so much else—and that work was happening all over Washington state, including in Kitsap County through organizations like Kitsap Mental Health Services and the Salish Behavioral Health Administrative Organization.”

On April 3, state Attorney General Nick Brown released a statement on the federal funding uncertainty:

“This administration’s attacks on public health are not over, but today’s order should give Washingtonians confidence that programs that prevent the spread of infectious diseases, support mental health, and get people out of substance abuse will continue to be funded for now,” Brown said.

For vaccine information, visit kitsappublichealth.org/imms/home or call 360-728-2007.