Chicago doctor after being vaccinated: 'A sense of hope and optimism'

CHICAGO - Doctors say some side effects of the coronavirus vaccine do not surface until a day or two after the initial dose, but so far, the first recipients report nothing unexpected as front-line healthcare workers at all 34 Chicago hospitals have begun getting the shots.

“A sense of hope and optimism that we're finally reaching the end of this tunnel,” said UIC Emergency Physician Dr. Marina Del Rios.

Dr. Del Rios was the first Chicago doctor to receive Pfizer’s 95-percent effective COVID vaccine Tuesday morning at Loretto Hospital on the West Side.

“I thought that it was really important that I set a good example,” she said. “If I'm expecting my patients to become immunized when the vaccine becomes widely available, I need to set a good example and practice what I'm preaching.”

FOX 32 spoke to Dr. Del Rios seven hours after she got vaccinated and other than slight soreness where she got the shot, she says she feels normal.

“It was pretty uneventful. I'm waiting to see how I feel in a day or two. Typically, if you're going to have any reaction (fevers, body aches) they usually happen a day or two after getting immunized,” she said.

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To anyone skeptical about receiving the vaccine, Dr. Del Rios says the science behind it is sound and to be trusted.

“I think if people have questions, they should ask them. Ask their providers, ask their trusted messengers in their own communities,” she said. “There is a light at the end. The tunnel's still long, we still have a few months to go, maybe a year, but this is a cause for hope and for optimism.”

Citywide, 100,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to be administered through New Year’s Eve, with more cause for optimism with Moderna's vaccine expected to be granted emergency-use authorization by the FDA sometime in the next week.