An Idaho health department is no longer offering COVID-19 shots after its board voted last month to restrict the department from doing so, an unusual step driven largely by misinformation about the side effects and safety of the shots.

The ban will make it harder for some people to access COVID vaccines in the six-county region in southwestern Idaho, which include Adams, Canyon, Owyhee, Gem, Washington and Payette counties and covers over 300,000 residents. But doctors and public health officials also worry that the move will have a far broader effect, by giving credence to false claims about the vaccines and fueling further efforts across the nation to stop people from getting vaccinated.

“This is a real challenge for us, because I don’t think it’s going to be the last department that’s going to be directed to do that,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. He added that the decision could further undermine trust in public health institutions.

— The Associated Press