Las Vegas, NV (KXNT) - The Clark County Commission on Tuesday adopted a resolution on Tuesday declaring COVID-19 misinformation a public health crisis that has prolonged the pandemic, created a culture of mistrust, and continues to endanger the health and safety of the community.
The resolution, requested by Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones, was adopted by a majority of the County Commission following a discussion about how misinformation surrounding the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, masks, social distancing and other measures recommended by health officials to stop the spread COVID-19 have caused confusion in the public and created divisions in the community.
“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our economy, our children’s education, and the health and safety of our community, and the spread of false and misleading information has only made matters worse,” Commissioner Jones said. “It’s important for our governing board to declare health misinformation as a public health crisis and commit to doing all we can to combat the falsehoods that continue to jeopardize the lives of our citizens.”
The commission vote was 5-2 in favor, with Commissioners Jim Gibson and Marilyn Kirkpatrick voting in opposition.
As of Sept. 20, COVID-19 has resulted in more than 315,500 cases and 5,400 deaths in Clark County, according to Southern Nevada Health District data. To date more than 1.1 million people have been fully vaccinated in the County, representing about 57 percent of the eligible population aged 12 years and older.