In July 2020, Jacobs was the only member of the Knox County Board of Health to vote against a mask mandate for those inside certain buildings. He defended his vote saying, "I worry that one-size-fits-all mandates such as this set a terrible precedent for government overreach, are difficult to enforce, can cause conflict between the authorities and the public when enforced, and, as written, this order places enforcement responsibilities on private businesses". He would get into a dispute with the Board in September 2020, after he recorded a video where images of fellow members were displayed over narration of Jacobs calling them "unelected bureaucrats who cast down edicts which carry the force of law with no accountability and no recourse." He would advocate for the abolishment of the Board and later successfully pressured the Knox County Commission to move up a vote on limiting their powers from April to March 2021.