Long-term care facilities in Chicago begin COVID vaccinations

The coronavirus vaccine is now being given out at long-term care facilities and outpatient clinics in Chicago.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady were at Esperanza Health Centers in Brighton Park Monday as the staff there received the first Moderna vaccines given in the city.

"I’ve been on site since the beginning of the pandemic. I’ve never been this excited about getting a vaccine. Let’s do this," said lead medical assistant Hilda Lopez.

The mayor pointed out that the Brighton Park neighborhood is one of many areas where it is needed the most, with others to follow.

"Workers at these facilies are overwhelmingly people of color and serve residents of color," Lightfoot said.

More than 20,000 vaccinations have been administered so far in the city, with almost 2-million in total given across the US.

Dr. Arwady also issued an update on the city's plan.

"We are in 1A, which means we are vaccinating healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents," she said. "We are launching some direct vaccination distribution to some of our larger outpatient clinics... and tomorrow the city is standing up its first central mass vaccination clinic, which will focus only on outpatient healthcare workers by appointment."

So what is next?

"Right now these outpatient partners are starting with vaccinating their own staff, but down the line, they will be our primary vaccinating partners. When we move to 1B, we'll start vaccinating older Chicagoans, and also we're moving into some of our frontline essential workers," Arwady said.

"As the weeks go on, we will be adding more outpatient practices to that list as more vaccine is available," she added.

"This is part of a multi-week distribution process that will roll out over the end of this year into January and February as more vaccines become available," Lightfoot said.

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Lightfoot says there is light at the end of the tunnel, but that we are still in the tunnel.

"We owe it to all the people that are getting vaccinated to stay diligent. We don't want all this hard work to be forgotten," the mayor said.

On Tuesday, the city will open that first mass vaccination site at Malcolm X College. As of now, the site will be used for vaccinating healthcare workers.