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Category: CurrentNews
What Does it Take to Bend Not Break? Make a Difference Before Disaster Strikes
On November 15 every year National Philanthropy Day takes place – a day that signifies the importance of working together for the common good. Whatcom Community Foundation exemplifies this concept in a variety of ways, like their support of our work as a Health Care Champion Sponsor and the incredible efforts they do to support resilience every day. In this guest column, they shine a light on their work to help rebuild after the floods of 2021:
Are we a resilient community? What does that look like?
A year ago this month, Whatcom County experienced the largest natural disaster in its history. Catastrophic flooding caused by severe rainstorms killed one resident, displaced more than 500, and caused more than $150 million in confirmed damages; an elementary school was destroyed and 2,000 homes — including 80% of the those in Sumas — were damaged.
As part of the private, community-based response, we were there. And we’re here to tell you: resilience looks like community — neighbors helping neighbors, chipping in, stepping up and Macgyvering their way through troubled waters to help people reach high ground, and then doing it again and again until neighbors are not just safe but made closer to whole: physically, emotionally, financially.
Of course, resilience is also robust infrastructure, flexible resources, strong leadership, sharp communication, clear roles and established protocols. Resilience is having a plan, along with the courage and imagination to change it to meet the moment.
Above all, resilience depends on relationships, best forged during ordinary times to lean on for the extraordinary moments when community support is the difference between bending and breaking. We cannot emphasize this enough. Trusted relationships — between public, private and nonprofit leaders, among neighbors and community partners — ensure respect, speed action and allow for creative solutions.
The Community Foundation set up the Resilience Fund several years ago with the idea that it would be activated during a disaster. More than $3 million was granted to area nonprofits for COVID-19 relief. Then came the floods. As of October 2022, the Community Foundation has granted $2.6 million for flood relief and recovery. These heroic numbers are all thanks to the stunning generosity of local businesses and neighbors. Neighborliness in action – resilience.
Resilience Fund dollars initially addressed humanitarian needs, then shifted to recovery efforts including supporting the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group (WLTRG) disaster case managers. While lasting solutions for housing, infrastructure and business recovery hinge on public funding, the WLTRG formed as a nonprofit dedicated to recovering and rebuilding following not just this, but all disasters.
Because there will be more. Experts predict heavy rainfall events — like the “atmospheric river” storms that led to flooding last year— to be more frequent and severe. Then there’s “the” earthquake or another pandemic or something else.
We’re all neighbors. County or city, red or blue; brown, black or white; rich, poor or neither: none of that matters when your house is on fire. What does resilience look like? You. And me. Us. The more we prepare and care for each other now, the better off everyone is when disaster strikes. When we strengthen relationships—across the street, across sectors and across the county— we bolster our ability to support each other equitably before, during and after a disaster or crisis. That’s what resilience looks like.
-Authored by the Whatcom Community Foundation, a Unity Care NW Health Care Champion Sponsor
Learn more about the Whatcom Community Foundation Resilience Fund here.
Learn more about becoming a Unity Care NW Health Care Champion Sponsor here.
Open Enrollment for Health Insurance is Here and We Can Help
The Marketplace Open Enrollment at HealthCare.gov runs from November 1, 2022 to January 15, 2023. Consumers who enroll in Washington state health insurance by midnight on December 15 can get full-year coverage that starts January 1.
Washington Health Insurance Coverage is Affordable! This year, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, more people qualify for help purchasing quality health coverage during the WA state open enrollment period. If you have looked for medical insurance in Washington state before, it is worth a second look:
• 4 out of 5 customers will be able to find a plan during WA state open enrollment for $10/month or less after subsidies.
• With the new law, millions of people will continue to qualify for tax credits that lower their premiums.
Quality Plans! These are quality, comprehensive health plans that offer doctor visits, emergency care, behavioral health care, preventive care, hospital care, and prescription drugs. There is a Washington state health insurance plan to suit nearly everyone.
Help is Available! Unity Care NW’s certified Insurance Navigators can help you for free. Call our health insurance navigators today! Call (360) 788-2669
Indoor Masking Still Required in Medical Facilities
With declining case rates and hospitalizations across the west, California, Oregon and Washington are moving together to update their masking guidance. As of March 12th, the west coast will be adopting new indoor mask policies. Masks will still be required in certain settings including health care, corrections facilities, and long-term care facilities. The Washington State Department of Health will be issuing new guidance for K-12 schools next week so schools can prepare to implement updated safety protocols. In addition, Unity Care NW is requiring anyone entering our facilities wear a level-3 or higher mask. This is in response to guidance from the CDC on the Omicron variant in order to protect our staff and patients.
Statement from Gov. Jay Inslee, Washington:
“We’ve continued to monitor data from our state Department of Health, and have determined we are able to adjust the timing of our statewide mask requirement. While this represents another step forward for Washingtonians, we must still be mindful that many within our communities remain vulnerable. Many businesses and families will continue choosing to wear masks, because we’ve learned how effective they are at keeping one another safe. As we transition to this next phase, we will continue to move forward together carefully and cautiously.”
UCNW Prescribes Empathy for Confronting the Crisis of Homelessness
Son holding father’s hand at the hospital
Homelessness has been on the rise across the country since 2016[1]. In places like Whatcom County, the lack of available housing makes homelessness an even more prevalent and visible issue. Most Washingtonians can relate to the sense that housing opportunities are becoming further and further out of reach. The economics of post-pandemic life and the high cost of living in our region have deepened financial worries for everyone. As inflation and interest rate changes threaten to worsen the housing market and exacerbate challenges for small business owners, economic tensions lead to stress that can result in conflict. Negative interactions between housed and unhoused people are particularly discouraging for anyone hoping we can come together as a community to end homelessness.
Organizations that work to provide services to people experiencing homelessness have unique insight into this public health crisis. Unity Care NW (UCNW), a local non-profit community health center, provides comprehensive health care to people who may otherwise be unable to afford it. Their staff see firsthand, the negative health impacts of homelessness on their patients. Many have symptoms of trauma and are made sicker by their lack of access to basic hygiene facilities. With 15% of UCNW’s patients experiencing homelessness – compared to an average of 8% at other community health centers nationwide — UCNW resolved to demonstrate its conviction that everyone who can do something to combat homelessness must do something.
This launched a partnership for UCNW with PeaceHealth, Whatcom County, and Opportunity Council to better serve the health and hygiene needs of people experiencing homelessness in Whatcom County. The result of this collaboration, a new facility called The Way Station, will provide shower, laundry, and restroom facilities, as well as respite beds for people experiencing a medical event who have nowhere to recuperate. The Way Station will also connect clients to Unity Care NW’s mental health and substance use disorder treatment and Opportunity Council’s housing support services.
The facility will be housed in the County-owned building at 1500 N State Street. Renovations are scheduled to begin in early 2023, with hopes of opening in fall of 2023.
Empathy is the Answer
While researching successful hygiene center models, The Way Station partners visited Urban Rest Stop in Seattle. A common theme in conversations with experts on the issue of homelessness has been the power of dignity to restore hope and create pathways out of homelessness. “The Urban Rest Stop has allowed me to clean up in order to help me get employment,” one client said in a testimonial. “They have treated me fairly and with dignity. Without these services, it would have been infinitely more difficult to improve my situation.” The Way Station will model the empathetic, trauma-informed approach that Unity Care NW has been using to effectively engage with patients and neighbors including those experiencing homelessness.
UCNW recently brought Ryan Dowd, the Executive Director of the second largest homeless shelter in America, to train its staff in using empathy-driven approaches to compassionately and effectively de-escalate situations and manage conflict. UCNW also partnered with the City of Bellingham, Bellingham Public Library, and the Mount Baker Theatre to offer this same training to more than 800 staff from local businesses and nonprofits. Empathy doesn’t mean excusing and accepting all of a person’s negative behaviors, it just asks that we approach others with awareness that their unique experience and biology impact their way of moving through the world. This can make all the difference for a person on the journey out of homelessness.
A person doesn’t need to be specially trained to help in the fight against homelessness and an organization doesn’t have to be focused on social services to contribute to addressing the housing crisis. Everyone one can do something to move the needle on homelessness. Unity Care NW is excited to deepen its own commitment to disrupting the cycle of homelessness. Partnering on The Way Station, with a trauma-informed and empathetic approach, will work to remove barriers to basic health and hygiene needs and help more people get into permanent housing.
To find out more about The Way Station or to get involved, go to unitycarenw.org/health-and-hygiene
ABOUT UNITY CARE NW
The mission of Unity Care NW (UCNW) is to increase the years of healthy life in the people and communities we serve. UCNW is a federally-qualified health center with sites in Bellingham and Ferndale. Established in 1982, the non-profit organization provides medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services to over 22,000 Whatcom County residents who consider Unity Care NW their medical home. Services are available for all people regardless of their ability to pay.
[1] Source: The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. January 2021. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Way Station
New Facility to Offer a Range of Services for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness
The Way Station: A resting point on the journey.
People experiencing homelessness face disproportionate challenges to maintaining their health and wellbeing. When they suffer an illness or injury and must seek care, unhoused individuals’ health care outcomes are made worse by a lack of respite beds and access to basic hygiene facilities. Health care providers worry about the effect of these gaps in patient care on the health of individuals and about the spread of disease resulting from inadequate sanitation. Simply providing access to shower and laundry facilities, greatly reduces the risk of infection to the individual and to the community at large. Providing medical respite for those too ill or frail to recover from a medical event but not sick enough to stay in a hospital, can also greatly improve the healing process for those who would otherwise have to try to convalesce on the streets.
Recognizing this need in our region, Unity Care NW, Opportunity Council, PeaceHealth, and the Whatcom County Health Department, have partnered to repurpose Whatcom County’s 1500 N. State Street property as the location for a collaborative project. The Way Station will provide individuals and families experiencing homelessness with a range of health and social services to assist their transition to sustainable housing. This unique facility will serve people in need of hygiene, medical and behavioral health care, and/or medical respite. Patients experiencing homelessness who are discharged from the hospital can recuperate and heal safely at The Way Station and access wrap around services, including help into long-term housing.
Project Scope & Services:
- Health care services provided by Unity Care NW with expanded access to laboratory testing for illness, vaccine administration, and health monitoring.
- Hygiene services: restrooms, showers, and laundry facilities.
- Medical respite care staffed 24-7 to provide a quiet environment for recovery from a medical event.
- Case management services linking visitors and respite residents with social services and healthcare resources.
- Connections to stable housing from Housing Case Managers from the Opportunity Council who will offer supportive pathways for patients to transition out of homelessness.
Project Funding
The project has been made possible by generous contributions from supporters and local donors (see full list below) and has been awarded government funding at the federal, state, and local level. Most recently, The Way Station received a grant for $1.5M from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of an historic funding package to help communities across the country provide housing and supportive services to people in unsheltered settings.
“Homelessness is a crisis, and it is solvable. Housing with supportive services solves homelessness. That’s why, for the first time the federal government is deploying targeted resources to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness in unsheltered settings or in rural areas,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “With these grants and vouchers, HUD is filling this gap and giving communities the resources and tools to improve housing and health outcomes for people on the streets, in encampments, under bridges, and in rural areas.”
State Senator. Sharon Shewmake, who secured a $4M funding in the state’s capital budget request for The Way Station in 2022. said, “This project hits it all— caring for community, saving money and helping to get people better and in housing.”
“Our partners have been instrumental in building momentum to get this project off the ground.” said County Executive Satpal Sidhu. “I also greatly appreciate our legislators’ efforts in Olympia to secure state funding that, together with local resources, will help us address a gap in services for the unhoused.”
The partnering organizations have been engaged since the start in researching models, touring facilities, and envisioning The Way Station.
Location and Site Renovation
The Whatcom County owned site provides adequate square footage to support the planned services and is close to transportation facilities and other social and health services including the Opportunity Council and Unity Care NW.
The team is awaiting approval of final building permits and is working with RMC Architects to finalize the facility’s design. Renovations will begin in the coming months and are anticipated to be completed about 9 months after they begin. As part of the permitting process, a Way Station Operations Plan was submitted to provide an overview of the facility’s policies, staff roles, guest agreement, emergency protocols.
To receive updates about The Way Station, email Marissa McGrath, Communications & Public Relations Associate at marissa.mcgrath@ucnw.org.
We extend our deepest appreciation for these partners and supporters of the Way Station
Organizations
Bee Works
Bellingham Bay Rotary
Chuckanut Health Foundation
Community Health Plan of Washington
First Federal Community Foundation
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Jerry H. Walton Foundation
Molina Healthcare Of WA
Mount Baker Foundation
PeaceHealth
Puget Sound Energy and Puget Sound Energy Foundation
The Tax Payers of Washington State
The Timken Foundation of Canton
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Whatcom County
Individuals
Andria Bensuaski
Don and Karen Berry
Steen Brochner-Nielsen
Brockmann Family in loving memory of Jason Brockmann
Tamera Devoss
Pamela Englett
Elizabeth Gabay
Posel Gockley Fund of the Whatcom Community Foundation
Jason and Angela Gum
Shanon Hardie
Laura Hutchinson
Joanna Jamco
Carolyn Jones
Will and Jodi Joyce
Kelly and Kevin Kaemingk
Brita Kiffney
Jan Klineburger in memory of Larry Thompson
Christina Kobdish
Steve and Cathi LeCocq
Tami J. Livingston
Jacqueline McCauley
Wanda McGlasson and Alan Heezen
Marissa McGrath
Sheila McGrath
Laird McHattie and Nathan Marino
Craig Miller
Neal and Carol Nicolay
Holly Orban
Marry and Buzz Ostlund
Sandra Portz
Tim R.
Rebecca Frevert and Desmond Skubi in memory of Dr. Milt Schayes and Larry Thompson
Nathan Brown and Becky Spithill
The Stuit Family
Leslie Sweeney
Mistie and Michael Taylor
Tamara Tregoning and Caleb Sanders
Rebecca Unger
Heather Whitaker, ARNP
Joshua Wirth
Anonymous (8)
Current as of February 8, 2023. All efforts were taken to ensure accuracy of this list. Please contact Development@ucnw.org with any questions.
COVID Vaccines for Children Under 5
The pandemic’s tide began to turn when vaccines rollouts began worldwide. With vaccine availability for children under age 5 rapidly approaching, Unity Care NW’s Associate Medical Director Kate Wojnicki at Unity Care NW sat down with WhatcomTalk to discuss how vaccines work, common misconceptions associated with the vaccine, and what parents can look forward to with vaccine approval for their youngest children.
CEO Jodi Joyce on Needed Hygiene Services for Patients Experiencing Homelessness
Jodi Joyce, CEO Unity Care NW
What if there was an apartment you really wanted but you didn’t have anywhere to take a shower or clean your clothes before you met the landlord to apply for it? Or, what if you didn’t have regular access to soap and water at all? This is the daily reality for too many unhoused people in our community, and Unity Care NW and its partners have a plan to change that.
Bellingham has become a community where fewer and fewer people can find a place to live, so it’s no surprise more people are finding themselves on the street/homeless/with no options. Homelessness is a Public Health Emergency in Whatcom County with consequences that affect the health of our entire community. Solutions seem impossible, but there is an abundance of both expertise and empathy locally to help individuals in need get healthy and into housing.
The recent Point in Time Census for Homeless Residents showed a modest improvement in our county after years of increasing rates of homelessness. The Way Station will harness this positive momentum and provide a place where people in Bellingham can take a shower, do their laundry, and go to the bathroom. It will also do so much more to help restore dignity and hope for people in need of permanent housing. As CEO of Unity Care NW, a non-profit health center that offers everyone in our community access to high-quality care, I am excited our team is partnering to bring together hygiene as well as medical and mental health services under one roof.
Every year, Unity Care NW serves more than 3,500 people experiencing homelessness. We see many illnesses that could have been avoided if our patients had access to soap and water and a place to rest when they are sick. We see people with injuries and wounds that they can’t keep clean and people recovering from a surgery with nowhere to recuperate safely. And situations like this are frustrating because they feed into a cycle that keeps people homeless.
Before the pandemic, Unity Care NW began to collaborate with PeaceHealth, the Opportunity Council, and the Whatcom Health Department to address community needs. With these other experts on homelessness, we started to ask: What if we designed a place where laundry, shower, and bathroom facilities were available to the public? What if we connected those same people to medical and mental health care including drug use treatment when they needed it? And respite beds for people referred from the hospital who need a place to recover from an injury or illness? And what if we had staff on site to help people navigate the housing system and get them a permanent place to live?
And that is what we decided to do. With this coalition of health and social service organizations, we have designed a unique facility that brings together models that have been successful in other cities. Thanks to funding support, both private and governmental, we can remodel the Whatcom County-owned location at 1500 N State Street in Bellingham later this year. In order to make these services sustainable, we will need ongoing support and contributions from local individuals and organizations.
If we can come together to support this innovative solution to address the physical and mental health of those in need, The Way Station will help people experiencing homelessness maintain their dignity, improve their health, and get into housing. And these positive effects will ripple out to make a stronger community where everyone can thrive.
We extend our deepest appreciation to partners and supporters of the Way Station
Organizations
Chuckanut Health Foundation
Community Health Plan of Washington
First Federal Community Foundation
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Jerry H. Walton Foundation
Molina Healthcare Of WA
Mount Baker Foundation
PeaceHealth
Puget Sound Energy Foundation
The Tax Payers of Washington State
Whatcom County
Individuals
Don and Karen and Berry
Steen Brochner-Nielsen
Brockmann Family in loving memory of Jason Brockmann
Tamera Devoss
Pamela Englett
Jason and Angela Gum
Shanon Hardie
Joanna Jamco
Will and Jodi Joyce
Jan Klineburger
Christina Kobdish
Tami J. Livingston
Jacqueline McCauley
Marissa McGrath
Mary and Buzz Ostlund
Tim R.
Rebecca Spithill in Memory of Larry Thompson
The Stuit Family
Leslie Sweeney
Mistie and Michael Taylor
Tamara Tregoning and Caleb Sanders
Anonymous (4 donors)
How Cavities Threatened a Patient’s Life-Saving Kidney Transplant
Click to Hear Garron’s Story
In the midst of an international pandemic, Unity Care NW was here when Garron needed us most.
I have had the honor of being the Dental Director for Unity Care NW for more than 20 years. The fact that dental health affects all health is often on my mind, and it’s why I appreciate the whole person care model that Unity Care NW provides. Our team has helped thousands of Whatcom County friends and neighbors access dental care, and one story that will forever be in my heart is Garron’s journey to a life-saving procedure.
After spending 11 years on dialysis, Garron was finally eligible to get on the list for a kidney transplant. His excitement was dampened when he found out that to take the next steps, he needed to be in the best health possible – which meant no dental cavities. His Medicare plan helped cover costs of his kidney failure, but it didn’t cover dental care. Garron had multiple cavities, but he couldn’t afford to care for his teeth. Luckily, a friend suggested that he contact Unity Care NW. He connected with my team and worked out a treatment plan. His spirits were lifted when he found out that he could access our Sliding Fee Discount Program, making his care affordable.
Now, Garron is cavity free and has a new kidney. He shared with my team that he felt relieved and deeply thankful for Unity Care NW’s services made possible by generous donations.
Even during a pandemic, our team continues to make sure that Garron, and thousands of others, receive top-notch medical, dental, pharmacy, and behavioral health services . At Unity Care NW we know that health can’t wait and everyone deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. That’s why every donation made to Unity Care NW is so vital to ensuring that the amount of money a person has does not determine how healthy they get to be.
Carrie Shane, DDS
Dental Director
Unity Care NW
The Fascinating Global History of Vaccination
Before vaccination, there was inoculation, a process of producing immunity by introducing an infectious agent onto abraded skin or a mucus membrane. Inoculation was used for thousands of years across many cultures to prevent smallpox, a disfiguring and sometimes deadly disease.
Asia
Several accounts describe smallpox inoculation as practiced in China and India in the 1500s. It is difficult to pinpoint when the practice began, as some sources claim it dates back as early as 200 BCE.
17th century Chinese Emperor K’ang, survived a case of smallpox, and then wrote about inoculation in a letter to his descendants:
“…I had it used upon you, my sons and daughters, and you all passed through the smallpox in the happiest possible manner…. In the beginning, when I had it tested on one or two people, some old women taxed me with extravagance, and spoke very strongly against inoculation. The courage which I summoned up to insist on its practice has saved the lives and health of millions of men. This is an extremely important thing, of which I am very proud.”
The method used during K’ang’s time involved grinding up smallpox scabs and blowing the dust into a person’s nostril.
Africa & America
In 1721, a ship arrived in Boston from the West Indies with smallpox on board, and despite precautions, a full-blown epidemic started that infected roughly half of the town’s 11,000 residents. An African-born enslaved man named Onesimus, shared his experience with Cotton Mather, the town’s problematic leading minister and Onesimus’ legal owner. When Mather asked Onesimus if he’d ever had smallpox, he answered “yes and no,” explaining that he had been inoculated in his home country and was now immune to the disease, “people take juice of smallpox and cut the skin and put in a drop.”
Mather interviewed other African-born men and realized that those who had been inoculated were immune to the epidemic currently raging in Boston. Mather pursued a determined course of action, asking doctors to inoculate their patients and the town’s ministers to support the plan. Boston still suffered dreadfully, but thanks to information about a practice dating back untold generations, from people enslaved by white landowners, the terror linked to smallpox began to recede.
England
Stories of the success of inoculation in New England spread to England and in the 1790s physician Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids in his community generally didn’t become sick with smallpox. He guessed it was because they were often exposed to cowpox, a related disease in cattle that only caused mild illness in humans.
In May of 1796, Jenner inoculated an eight-year-old boy with matter from a cowpox sore on the hand of a milkmaid named Sarah Nelmes. The boy suffered a small rash and felt ill for several days but made a full recovery. In July, Jenner inoculated the boy again, this time with matter taken from a fresh human smallpox sore, to test his immunity. The boy remained healthy.
Jenner published a pamphlet which outlined his success in protecting 23 patients from smallpox infection with material from a cowpox pustule. In fact, the word “vaccine” was coined by Jenner; derived from Variolae vaccinae (Latin for ‘smallpox of the cow’). Even though Jenner used the scratching method to introduce infectious material to his patients, ‘vaccination’ was adopted later as the term for the practice of inoculation by injection with a needle that we use today.
Messenger RNA
Fast forwarding to 1960, messenger RNA (mRNA) was discovered as the cell’s means to encode information needed to fight infections. In late 1987, Robert Malone, a graduate student at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, mixed strands of mRNA with droplets of human fat. The human cells absorbed the mRNA and began producing proteins. Realizing that this discovery might have far-reaching potential in medicine, Malone thought it might be possible to “treat RNA as a drug”.
Since 2010, mRNA vaccines have been studied for influenza, Zika, rabies, and other diseases in animals and humans. Recent technological advancements improved mRNA vaccines’ stability and effectiveness enough for scientists and drug manufacturers to recommend their use for the first time outside of the research lab in the fight against COVID-19.
Currently vaccines for COVID-19, are the only approved mRNA vaccines. They use mRNA that directs cells to produce copies of a “spike protein” on the outside of the coronavirus. Once replicated, the immune system detects the spike protein and creates an immune response to prevent the disease. If the immunized person is exposed to COVID-19, they are less likely to become seriously ill or die from the disease. Researchers are studying how mRNA might be used to develop vaccines for additional infectious diseases and continue the life-saving legacy of vaccination.
Vaccines to Keep You and Your Community Safe this Winter
Aside from the COVID-19 vaccines now available through the miracle of modern science, there are two other vaccinations we can get to help keep ourselves and our community safe. Flu vaccines protect against the four influenza viruses that research indicates to be most common. Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu shot every season with rare exception. A study just this year showed that among adults, flu shots were associated with a 26% lower risk of ICU admission and a 31% lower risk of death from flu compared with the unvaccinated.
Pneumococcal disease is another serious illness that is caused by bacteria called pneumococcus. In adults the disease can cause pneumonia, blood infections, meningitis, and is sometimes deadly. Pneumovax is a vaccine that protects against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria. The CDC recommends annual vaccination for all adults 65 years or older and for adults 19 years or older who smoke or have an immunocompromising condition.
If everyone who has been vaccinated for COVID-19 received flu shots and Pneumovax this year as well, countless hospitalizations and deaths could be avoided. Making vaccination a regular part of your health care can prevent future pandemics and save lives.
Sources:
Volume 6 of Science and Civilisation in China by Joseph Needham
The Life and Death of Smallpox by Ian and Jenifer Glynn
“How an African slave helped Boston fight smallpox” from The Boston Globe:
Timeline of vaccination history
https://historyofvaccines.org/history/vaccine-timeline/timeline