In an irresponsible, but not surprising decision on public health in southern Indiana, the needle exchange program in rural Scott County — which helped contain what a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official called "one of the worst documented outbreaks of HIV among IV users in the past two decades" — is coming to an end.

That’s thanks to the vote of county commissioners, who ignored the guidance of health workers and law enforcement officials and the pleas from members of the community — not to mention the evidence that the program works.

Supporters call the program, which offers addicts medical care, testing and people who could assist them in recovery, a model for the rest of the country. Health officials credit it with helping drive down the county’s number of new HIV cases to fewer than five last year.

Among those voicing support for the program is Dr. Jerome Adams, the former U.S. surgeon general who served as Indiana’s health commissioner during the HIV outbreak. Adams has been credited with persuading then-Gov. Mike Pence, a long-time opponent of needle exchange programs, to allow Indiana counties to create such exchanges to contain the spread of the disease.

Back in 2015, Scott County attracted national attention for the outbreak, which was linked to intravenous drug use. At the time, needle exchange programs, which allow drug users to swap dirty needles for clean ones, were illegal in the state. Pence issued an executive order allowing syringes to be distributed in Scott County. That same year, the legislature passed, and Pence signed, a law that allows counties to apply for syringe exchange programs in Indiana.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorses the programs as a way to reduce harm and prevent people who use intravenous drugs from contracting HIV.

But in voting to eliminate the program by the end of this year, the southern Indiana commissioners said they don’t want to enable dangerous behavior.

The decision leaves health officials worried that another outbreak could happen. Last month, Dr. Kristina Box, the state’s health commissioner, said that ending the exchange would inevitably lead to a rise in HIV and hepatitis C cases.

That the commissioners would overlook the advice of health experts and the data supporting that advice is outrageous and irresponsible — and it should be shocking. Unfortunately, given the events of the past year, as the country has grappled with a pandemic, it isn’t.