DuPage County Preparing To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Next Week

DuPage County is preparing to receive and distribute the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine next week. The county health department is expecting to receive 13-thousand doses in the first shipment. Healthcare workers who work with coronavirus patients will be administered the vaccine first. Health officials anticipated it will take several months to vaccinate the estimated 58-thousand health care personnel and long-term care facility residents in the county. The county has launched a COVID-19 Vaccine webpage to keep the public informed on the latest vaccine information.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says 23-thousand COVID-19 vaccine doses will be coming to the city next week pending F-D-A approval. Lightfoot says those shots will be going to healthcare workers taking care of coronavirus patients and those at highest risk of getting the virus. She says the next shipment will only cover a fraction of the 400-thousand healthcare workers in Chicago. The city’s goal is to give every city resident access to the vaccine as soon as possible at no charge, but Lightfoot says mass-inoculations in the city are still months away. Until then, she is urging residents to continue wearing a mask, social distancing, and practicing other precaution measures.