Tammy McPherson DAILY HERALD
The Utah County Board of Health is considering raising the fee for a food-handler permit if it approves a hepatitis A immunization requirement.
The board will be holding a public hearing next month to talk about mandating the immunization for food handlers and how that requirement would be funded.
Board members suggested Monday raising the permit fee from $10 to $15 to pay for an employee to handle the extra paperwork. Any person who applied for a permit would have to show they have been immunized.
If they have not received the shots, food-handler applicants also would have to pay for the shots. Many insurance plans cover that cost, said Dr. Joseph Miner, executive director of the Utah County Health Department and member of the board.

The board is also considering giving the shots at cost for the about 9,000 residents who would apply for a permit each year. This would lower the price about $10 each. The Health Department charges $23 for a pediatric dose and $28 for an adult dose.
Hepatitis A is a liver disease that is spread from hand to mouth, and most people become infected by eating contaminated food. Only those who are infected with the disease can spread it. Miner said it is nearly impossible for a person with hepatitis A not to have the virus on their hands.
Most outbreaks happen at family gatherings. Though a restaurant outbreak is less likely, more people are affected when an outbreak originates there, Miner said.
“When it does happen, it’s a huge expense and devastating to a restaurant,” he said at the board meeting Monday.
Utah Restaurant Association President Melva Sine said her organization was opposed to the mandate because the risk for an outbreak is low compared to the added cost for restaurant owners.
She said there has been no major hepatitis A outbreak at a restaurant in Utah for about 10 years. Sine said many restaurant workers are Hispanic or from other foreign countries and are already immune because they have had the virus and therefore don’t need the immunization.
Those foreign workers who have not had the shots, though, are more likely to carry the virus because it is more common in their culture, Miner said. This is why he said he thinks it would be good for them to receive the shots.
There are two shots included in a hepatitis A immunization. One would be required with the first food-handler permit and the second would be required when a person got his or her permit renewed in two years.
Tammy McPherson can be reached at 344-2559 or tmcpherson@heraldextra.com.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D4.