News & Stories for Oregonians
Eight-year-old Emiliano Rangel couldn’t wait to get his COVID-19 vaccine. His mom, Maria Rangel, got hers first; next came sister and brother, Ruby, 15, and Giovanni, 14. But Emiliano was still too young. “Ever since he saw his brother and sister vaccinated, he asked ‘When is the vaccine coming for me?’” recalled Maria, bilingual programs coordinator for NW Disability Support. “He was extra cautious. He […]
Senitila McKinley, founder and director of Seashore Family Literacy in Waldport, grew up in a village in Tonga, a group of islands located in the South Pacific Ocean. To this day, Senitila says any hesitancy she had about getting vaccinated against COVID-19 wasn’t about the vaccine, but the needle. She says her fear of needles began when she went to get her first vaccine as a child. When she saw the needle, Senitila ran home. But her father “believed in Western medicine,” and carried her back.
Is a fear of needles preventing you or a loved one from getting a COVID-19 vaccine? You are not alone. Scientists estimate that as many as 25 percent of Americans suffer from trypanophobia, a fear of blood or needles. Fear of needles prevents millions of people from getting the care they need to live long, healthy lives. As many as 16 percent of people in the U.S. don’t get a yearly flu vaccination because they dread getting a […]
