Public Health is All of Us

Why Vaccinate?

We hear a lot about vaccinations these days. But what exactly are vaccines? How do they work? And are there dangers of vaccinations that we should be aware of? On this episode speak with an expert in the field to try to make sense of the world of vaccinations, and we hear from an elder in our community, Therese Vogel, who shares the story of her sister Nancy. The goal of today's episode is to try to understand some of the conflicting information that's out there, to help all of us make the right choices for ourselves, our families and our communities. Featured speakers: Therese Vogel is a member of Grandparents for Vaccines [https://grandparentsforvaccines.org/]. When she was born, there was no measles vaccine. As a result, her sister had an experience that she hopes other families can avoid. Dr. Howard Chiou is the medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations for the Oregon Health Authority's Public Health Division. 'Public Health is All of Us' is produced by the Public Health Division of Multnomah County, Oregon. This podcast focuses on exploring and learning about public health in our community - why it matters, and what you need to know to keep yourself and your community safe, healthy and thriving. You can find us on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Google play or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to like and subscribe so you can be the first to know whenever a new episode drops. —-------------------- The Oregon Health Authority tracks the vaccination rates of all Oregon schools here [https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/VACCINESIMMUNIZATION/SCHOOL/Pages/ImmunizationRates.aspx]. Therese's sister Nancy at age 6: Nancy (left) and Therese Vogel in Oregon. Therese Vogel recording this interview, with a photo of her late sister Nancy next to her. Music for this program: Friends of Yugen Jam Band (Track 3) Recorded at KBOO in April 2017 (available on the Free Music Archive)

A New WIC Clinic in Portland!

On today's episode, we focus on WIC: the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. WIC is a federally funded program that provides healthy foods, nutrition education and breastfeeding/chestfeeding support to low-income families in Multnomah County, and across the country. In 2025, Multnomah County's WIC program served over twenty thousand people in four clinics. By the end of Fiscal Year 2026, County WIC clients will have received over eight and a half million dollars worth of healthy foods. This helps make sure the babies have sufficient nutrition and food security to make it to their fifth birthday healthy and thriving. The County has served the largest and most diverse WIC client base in Oregon for the last 52 years. On this episode, we feature an interview with Multnomah County WIC Specialist Rocio Gutierrez, who tells us about the WIC program and about the grand opening of a new WIC clinic in the Rockwood neighborhood of Portland.

What is Public Health? (and how does it affect me?)

Public Health is All of Us is a brand new podcast produced by the Public Health Division in Multnomah County, Oregon. This podcast focuses on exploring and learning about public health in our community - why it matters, and what you need to know to keep yourself and your community safe, healthy and thriving. So … what is public health? It's a connected, community-based health system created by a century and a half of scientific knowledge, health education, vaccinations against preventable diseases and environmental protections to keep us safe and healthy. In the late 1800s, scientific advances helped reveal the causes of many communicable diseases whose causes had previously been a mystery. These discoveries laid the foundation for the field of public health, laying the groundwork for the virtual eradication of diseases like smallpox, tuberculosis, malaria, measles, mumps, rubella and polio in the US. Thanks to vaccines that protect the population from certain diseases, and public health advances in clean water and air, many of the diseases that plagued people around the world and here in the US a century ago are nearly unheard of today. In Multnomah County, which has the highest population of any county in Oregon, a robust public health system has worked to keep the population healthy and thriving. Even during the difficult years of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health workers in the county implemented contact tracing protocols and educated the local population on the best ways to stop the spread of the fast-moving, very contagious corona virus. Lessons learned from that period have been incorporated into a pandemic playbook that the County is ready to put into action if another virus like COVID begins to spread in the community. Now, as we enter the second half of the 2020s, the Multnomah County Public Health Division is looking ahead with new leadership and a robust comprehensive plan to ensure the safety and health of the community in the years to come. Music for this program: Friends of Yugen Jam Band (Track 3) Recorded at KBOO in April 2017 (available on the Free Music Archive)