Aging in Our Community
A Message from W. Mark Clark, President and CEO
In mid-March, Tucson recognized the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Camp Lowell. In the spring of 1873, the Army presence in what is now downtown Tucson was moved seven miles from town, out to what we now know as Ft. Lowell Park. Among the many officers and soldiers stationed at the Fort over its 18 years of existence was a brand new First Lieutenant, Dr. Walter Reed. He served in 1875 as Post Surgeon for almost a year. You may have heard of Dr. Reed, most likely because the Army Medical Hospital in Washington, DC (now Bethesda, MD) is named after him. This honor was bestowed Dr. Reed due to his leading the commission that proved at the turn of the 19th century that the Yellow Fever virus was spread by mosquitos. It confirmed a theory advanced by Cuban Dr. Carlos Finlay and was one of the great public health successes of our time. The discovery led to the eradication of Yellow Fever, which in the 1790s killed nearly 10% of the population of Philadelphia. Today, we find ourselves at what we hope is the decline of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which has killed more than 1.1 million people in the United States, and nearly
7 million worldwide. As terrible as that death rate is, it certainly would have been much worse without the public health efforts undertaken worldwide, as well as the dedicated and selfless work of many healthcare professionals and other essential workers. The public health efforts are countless, including research, vaccination, public education, contract tracing, and supplying protective equipment, among many other measures. As a youngster, I still recall receiving my first Sabin Polio Vaccination. My parents, brother, and I lined up in the school cafeteria where my dad was the Assistant Principal to get our vaccines. This public health effort ensured that neither my family members nor I contracted polio. And since then, I have been diligent about getting my vaccinations, including five rounds of COVID shots. These life-saving measures result from medical research and public health efforts. At PCOA, we undertook a significant amount of work promoting COVID-19 vaccinations. You may recall that our “Take Your Shot” media campaign won a 1st Place National Award last summer. And every year, we encourage everyone
who can to get the Flu vaccine. Later this year, we anticipate that PCOA will once again launch an effort to encourage all who can to join me in getting their annual vaccinations, which may include an updated COVID-19 and Flu vaccine. Sadly, we know that Public Health has become ever more politically controversial than in the past. And while in the very scary times of the early Pandemic there were undoubtedly some mistakes that may have been made. However, as a society, we are better off now than we might have been without public health services. Like so many, I appreciate what public health efforts afford us - clean water, a functional community sewer system, efforts to quell communicable diseases, and, yes, vaccinations. A special hats off to our local public health workers!
W.Mark Clark President & CEO
April 2023, Never Too Late | Page 3
Pima Council on Aging
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