Share this @internewscast.com

CHICAGO (CBS) — The first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine were headed to hospitals late Sunday, and were poised to be administered to frontline health care workers within hours.

The precious cargo started leaving Pfizer’s facility in Michigan early Sunday. It is a logistical challenge that involves factory workers, truck drivers, and even airline pilots.

On Sunday night, CBS 2’s Steven Graves broke down what the distribution in our region will look like.

The vaccine is a long time coming for health care workers. Hospitals like Stroger Hospital of Cook County and many others will get the vaccine first.

Illinois will receive more than 100,000 doses in the first run, while Indiana will receive a little more than half that many.

COVID-19 cases and deaths are still major concerns in both states.

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine shipped out in frigid temperatures from the drug company’s Kalamazoo, Michigan site on Sunday. Truckloads of it were escorted by police.

Planes also filled up.

It is a portion of the approximately 3 million initial doses headed out nationwide. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the state will get 109,000.

Counties with the highest COVID-19 death rates will take priority. Leaders in each area will determine allocations.

Chicago will manage its own supply and initially get 23,000 doses. Nine hospitals will store and distribute the vaccine.

Vaccination sites for health care workers – the first to receive the treatment – could look much like the makeshift pods now set up at Rush University Medical Center for the purpose. The plan is to vaccinate 1,000 staffers a day.

At Stroger, the plan is to vaccinate hundreds a day. In DuPage County, some doctors expect to get the shot as early as Tuesday.

Indiana is slated to get about 55,000 doses, at a time when the state is experiencing record hospitalizations.

“We do believe when nurses get a vaccines themselves, they role model the behavior we feel will set us on the path to attain widespread vaccination,” said Emily Sego, President of the Indiana State Nurses Association.

Northwest Indiana’s Munster Community Hospital is slated to serve as a pre-positioning site.

Right now, there is no mandate for people to take the vaccine. People are also encouraged to stay socially distant and mask up.

Also From CBS Chicago:

Source: CBS Chicago

Share this @internewscast.com
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Could the Sycamore Gap Tree come back to life? Experts say Britain's most famous tree could be saved but warn it will take decades to regrow – as police quiz boy, 16, arrested over felling

The Sycamore Gap tree could come back to life but will take…
Damian Lillard pens emotional goodbye to Portland

Damian Lillard pens emotional goodbye to Portland

Damian Lillard had one more goodbye left in him to the city…

The calm after the storm: Brits could bask in warmest October 1 in 12 YEARS as autumn sunshine returns with temperatures set to soar to up to 24C this weekend

The calm after the storm: Brits could bask in warmest October 1…

Pictured: Croydon schoolgirl's NHS mother at vigil for murdered daughter as family weep for 15-year-old stabbed to death 'by her friend's ex-boyfriend as he tried to win her over with flowers' in horrific rush-hour attack

The heartbroken mother of a 15-year-old girl stabbed to death on her…
The low water level of the Mississippi River is seen as people sit on steps that normally meet the river in the French Quarter of New Orleans, on  September 25, 2023

The not-so-mighty Mississippi: River’s water levels near historic lows for second year in row, leaving New Orleans residents facing drinking water crisis as salty sea water is pushed into watercourse

The Mississippi River’s water levels have neared historic lows for a second…

CVS pharmacists walking off the job to protest working conditions

CVS Health is contending with walkouts by pharmacists protesting working conditions and…
Opening of SeaWorld San Antonio’s new water coaster delayed to spring 2024

SeaWorld San Antonio’s New Water Coaster Opening Delayed until Spring 2024

SAN ANTONIO – SeaWorld San Antonio has delayed the opening of the…
Migrants seen after crossing the Rio Grande river border from Piedras Negras, Mexico into the US on September 27, 2023

Eagle Pass is hit by another huge influx of migrants – as leaked document suggests Border Patrol agents were too busy processing migrants to guard crossing

Shocking new images show the Eagle Pass epicenter of the migrant crisis being…
Police searching for missing 7-month old, 15-year-old mother

Police searching for missing 7-month old, 15-year-old mother

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – Authorities are searching for an infant they believe…
Chicago Water: City's free pilot program on Little Village block helping tackle city's lead pipe problem

Chicago Water: City’s free pilot program on Little Village block helping tackle city’s lead pipe problem

CHICAGO (WLS) — Jose Gonzalez grew up drinking Chicago water straight out…
Chicago shooting: Man, woman shot in car with children inside in Englewood, CPD says

Job: WLS-TV Newswriter / Producer

ABC 7 Chicago’s No. 1 news is looking to hire a Newswriter/Producer…
1 person injured after man opens fire at a statue protest in New Mexico

1 person injured after man opens fire at a statue protest in New Mexico

A man was in custody after gunfire burst out at a protest…