Non-hospital health care workers including Chicago’s public health commissioner smiled and cheered Tuesday morning after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine at the city’s first mass vaccination site, capping off months of grueling workdays with hope that 2021 will be a brighter year.
Dr. Allison Arwady, who heads Chicago’s public health department, rolled up her sleeve for the Pfizer vaccine at Malcolm X College on the Near West Side, where the city has set up a makeshift site for a second wave of health care workers, this time for those who work outside hospital settings, to get the vaccine. Wearing a black “Protect Chicago” mask, Arwady sat down and said she was ready for her first dose.
After receiving the shot in her left arm, Arwady waited in the chair for about 15 minutes in order to monitor any side effects. But she said she felt invigorated that after almost a year of serving as Chicago’s authoritative voice on all things COVID-19, she was able to publicly be part of the vaccination effort that will be crucial in bringing the city back to normal.
“I’m wonderful,” Arwady said when asked whether she felt OK. “Honestly, can’t even feel it. I’m so pleased right now.”
Her vaccination was followed by a slate of other non-hospital health care workers who passed through or will pass through the Malcolm X College site and other mass vaccination centers now available to them by appointment as part of “Phase 1a” of distribution, which includes health care workers and long-term care facility residents. The first nursing home patients and workers began getting the vaccine this week.
Arwady, who said she qualified because she sees patients on a volunteer basis, and other health care workers leaving Malcolm X College after getting the vaccine shared a sense of accomplishment in setting an example that the vaccine was safe. They said the shot was a triumphant way to conclude a brutal year in the health care field, while balancing the optimism with a nod to the still monthslong vaccination timeline — and the ongoing effort to build trust in the vaccine.
The appointments are available by invite only, Arwady said. Employees at outpatient and other non-hospital settings received a code to make an appointment for the free vaccine, with the City Colleges of Chicago site already booked for Tuesday and Wednesday. Health care providers from urgent care centers to dental offices can register their employees at chicago.gov/covidvax if they have not done so already.
This current phase of vaccine distribution likely will take up January and most of February, Arwady said. In late February, the vaccines are expected to expand into phase “1b,” for Chicagoans age 75 or older and front-line essential workers.
Chris Ballinger, a physician assistant at a Norridge location of Physicians Immediate Care, said he sent his wife a picture of himself with a Band-Aid on his arm within a minute after the shot was completed. The wait was a little nerve-wracking, he said, but upon walking out the door he felt nothing but relief that he can be part of the next step in getting past the pandemic.
“It’s finally done,” he said outside the exit as an acquaintance drove by and hollered, “Go Chris!” “Hopefully things get back to somewhat normal prior to this pandemic, and that (2021 is) just a happier year than what this year has been.”
His colleague Erin Kane Seifert said she was unsure going into her appointment whether she’d have a reaction, especially being pregnant, but she said she felt normal upon walking out of Malcolm X College, where one woman greeted her after the shot with a “Yea!”
“Obviously there’s always that edge of the unknown,” Kane Seifert, a physician assistant, said. “But all signs point in the right direction.”
As an employee at an immediate care clinic that administers COVID-19 tests, Kane Seifert said the vaccine has been a long time coming and the next few months of vaccine rollout will be a critical moment in the nation’s marathon fight against the virus. She said most of her patients are on board with the vaccine, but she hopes any lingering stigma around it will disappear with more media coverage and education.
Mira Georgieva, a registered nurse at Heroes Home Health, said she’s cared for discharged COVID-19 patients who have discovered they now become out of breath after going up the stairs. The year also has been lonely without regularly seeing friends and family because of social distancing, she said.
But she added that getting the vaccine Tuesday has encouraged her because it means being part of an ongoing effort to protect herself and possibly her community.
“It’s been rough,” said Georgieva, who estimates about one-third of her patients have concerns with the vaccine. “I’m ready to end this thing.”
In her news conference before the vaccination, Arwady also touched on the ongoing need for connecting with communities that may struggle with getting the vaccine. She said the city is in the midst of fine-tuning a “COVID-19 vulnerability index” to calibrate how much outreach and resources to dedicate to neighborhoods with barriers to socioeconomic status, English language proficiency, housing, transportation and health care access. The index is intended to pinpoint spots most vulnerable to COVID-19 and that need additional efforts to decrease barriers to receiving the vaccine.
Arwady also cautioned that although she hopes her confidence in the vaccine encourages other people to feel the same when it’s their turn to get the shot, that day may take months to arrive for the average adult. That wait may be long, she said, but it’s a promising start to the end.
“I am really, really pleased to be able to get my vaccine today,” Arwady said. “I have absolutely no hesitation about it.”
Illinois surpassed 948,000 known cases of COVID-19 Tuesday with another 5,644 confirmed and probable cases of the illness reported during a 24-hour period. The statewide known case tally now totals 948,006. With another 106 additional deaths of people with COVID-19 reported Tuesday, Illinois’ death toll stands at 16,179.
The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a share of tests for the period ending Monday was 7.4%, which is a slight increase from the past five days, but flat from a week ago. A month ago, the case positivity rate was just over 10%.
The new cases reported Tuesday came out of a batch of 66,786 tests conducted during the previous 24 hours. As of Monday night, 4,313 people across Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 904 patients in intensive care units and 506 on ventilators.
The seven-day averages for statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations, intensive care bed and ventilator use continue to decline as they have for most of December.