With Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. confirmed, basic health care decisions seem to be driven more by politics than conversations with health care providers. As a Community Health Worker, what I’m hearing from my clients is that it’s hard to know who to trust when it comes to vaccines: Are immunizations safe? Can you trust the government and ‘big pharma’?
The benefits of preventive health care, such as vaccines, are sometimes hard to demonstrate unless it affects a person directly. For instance, when you get a flu shot, you may still get the flu, but the chance of hospitalization is greatly reduced. However, when there was a recent outbreak of shingles in the North Country, people knew friends and family suffering from the virus, and they were getting vaccines without questioning its efficacy.
Community-based health workers know the resources in their own neighborhoods, including where to get information about vaccinations. They’re not clinical, not big pharma, not prescribing — they’re neutral.
That’s why when I talk about vaccines and personal health, the first thing I ask is, “What’s right for you?”
As the debate around immunizations continues and COVID and flu season persists, I strongly encourage independent thinking to reduce harm from these viruses and other diseases. Turn to a trusted person for information, whether it’s a health care provider or a community health worker available through the New Hampshire Public Health Network. It really is your choice.
Rebecca Hill-Larsen
Littleton