Chelan Brown, BHN Social Justice Director

My family and I traditionally do not partake in getting vaccines. There is a lot to why this is, but mainly because vaccine hesitancy has been a generational pass down to all of us from our elders who had vaccine hesitancy due to a mistrust of governmental vaccines. 
 
It has been a very hard journey dealing with COVID-19 for my family, friends, and social network. We have lost people and dealt with hospitalizations as well. Even with that dynamic, we still were “hesitant” to get vaccinated. I say hesitant, but really it was more of a fear. Throughout this process, the leadership at BHN has been one of the most supportive teams I have ever worked with. The organization has been very patient, understanding, and respectful of my decision. 

I am happy to say that two weeks ago, after attending a COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy session, I decided to get vaccinated and feel it was the best choice for my family. In fact, my husband went to the BHN clinic to get vaccinated as well.
 
I would like to send a formal THANK YOU to the team at BHN's vaccine clinics for my experience and for serving our communities, especially our vulnerable ones, with such dignity, care, and concern…a true testament of our social justice commitment and work. I was treated so well at my appointment and my experience with each staff member I came in contact with or watched work with patients was second to none! 

One more thing to note that I didn’t mention, with every person that walked in to get vaccinated while I was there, there seemed to be an air of excitement and hope from the staff there. Can’t quite explain it, but I’ve never really seen a team of staff waiting anxiously and excitedly to get people signed in and served! It was truly incredible to see!

When and Where Can You Get Vaccinated?



• BHN Springfield Vaccine Clinic - Check for upcoming appointments.
• Mass.gov COVID-19 Vaccine Finder: Search for appointments at pharmacies, health care providers, and other community locations. 
• Vaccination locations and bus routes in the PVTA service area: Find a list of COVID-19 vaccination sites in the PVTA service area and which bus routes service them.
• Text 438829 (English) or Text 822862 (Spanish) to find locations near you offering the vaccine.