Vaccine Education Through Peer Advocacy

Author: Hannah Wuilliez, Immunization Health Educator, and trained Boost Oregon Peer Advocate.

In early 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, I was working as the Immunization Coordinator for my county. As this was an unfamiliar vaccine, I noticed a lot of hesitancy and concerns in my community and knew I needed to find a way to help. That’s when I joined Boost Oregon’s Peer Advocacy team. I was already familiar with the excellent educational resources Boost had created and knew they’d be the perfect partner for providing the vaccine hesitancy support my community needed.

While working with the public in a government position it was important to me to assist my community in a way that was culturally appropriate, personable, informative, and transparent. Basically, everything that Boost Oregon represents! Through the Boost Oregon Peer Advocacy team, I learned effective communication techniques that allowed me present vaccine information to hesitant folks and support them through an important personal health decision. It was a great feeling knowing I was sharing factual, evidence-based resources to folks at a time when misinformation was so prevalent everywhere you looked. 

Even though COVID-19 vaccines are becoming more routine in our healthcare, the work that the Peer Advocacy team does is far from finished. New vaccine information is released regularly, leaving folks continuously vulnerable to misinformation, and unsure how to proceed. Thanks to Boost Oregon, people from all walks of life have the opportunity to learn about vaccine safety and efficacy whenever they are faced with a new personal immunization decision. I am beyond excited to continue my work with this team!