HJAR Sep/Oct 2021

34 SEP / OCT 2021 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS DIRECTOR’S DESK ALOGUE COLUMN SECRETARY’S CORNER FLU AND COVID-19 vaccinations are two important ways to help keep people healthy and out of the hospital. Healthcare workers can play an important role in encouraging vaccinations, addressing the public’s concerns and pointing patients to reliable sources for vaccine information. One reason people may refuse to get vac- cinated for the flu and COVID-19 is that they underestimate the potential severity of the flu and COVID-19 while overestimating the severity of the side effects of the vaccines, also other sources to refer patients to, such as ImmunizeAR.org, vaccinateyourfamily.org , and vaccineinformation.org. These tools will hopefully help people better understand the risk of not getting vaccinated and how it could impact their health and the health of their family and friends. Flu and COVID-19 are both contagious re- spiratory illnesses that cause mild to severe symptoms — even death in some cases. The state’s 2019-2020 flu season included 1,370 flu-related hospitalizations reported to the With flu season approaching and another surge in COVID-19 cases underway due to the Delta variant, encouraging Arkansans to get vaccinated will be an important strategy in keeping Arkansans healthy and providing relief to an already strained health system. so they have a hard time making a balanced risk assessment. However, it is critical that Arkansans know the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and that they work. The only way to fix these issues is to make sure people have the correct information in front of them tomake an informed decision as well as knowwhere to go to further study the topic. Not only is re- liable information available through govern- ment entities like the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but there are THE IMPORTANCE OF COVID-19 & Flu Vaccinations DURING THE PANDEMIC