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Connections

Vaccines and Public Health in Monroe County

Three people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at left has short brown hair, a brown beard and is wearing a light grey blazer over a white button-down shirt; a woman at center has shoulder-length grey hair and is wearing a green dress; a woman at right has short blonde hair and is wearing a brown dress.
Mitch Herring
/
WXXI News
Andrew Cox and Marielena Vélez de Brown with host Racquel Stephen on "Connections" on Tuesday, July 29, 2025
A smiling woman with short blonde hair sits at a desk in front of a microphone wearing a gold necklace and green and white patterned dress.
David Griffin
/
WXXI News
Racquel Stephen guest hosting "Connections with Evan Dawson"

From measles scares to shifts around COVID guidelines, vaccine conversations have gotten more complicated.

Parents have questions about what’s required for school, who qualifies for exemptions, and how to navigate conflicting advice from the CDC, social media, and their own doctors.

The Commissioner of the Monroe County Department of Public Health joins us to cut through the noise and talk about vaccines and public health, and how her department is building trust in a time of science skepticism.

In studio:

Racquel Stephen is WXXI's health, equity and community reporter and producer. She holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Rochester and a master's degree in broadcasting and digital journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Elissa Orlando is a producer for “Connections with Evan Dawson.” She returns part-time to WXXI News after stepping back from a long career in public media and in translational science.
Veronica Volk is a senior producer and editor for WXXI News.
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.