With ‘no hesitation,’ Chicago’s health commissioner gets Pfizer shot at new Malcolm X College mass vaccination site for non-hospital healthcare workers
Chicago’s public health commissioner received the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday morning at Malcolm X College as part of a wave of non-hospital healthcare workers now eligible for the shot.
Dr. Allison Arwady, who heads Chicago’s public health department, rolled up her sleeve for the Pfizer vaccine at the Near West Side campus, where the city has set up a makeshift mass vaccination site for healthcare workers. Wearing a black “Protect Chicago” mask, Arwady sat down and said she was ready for her first dose of the vaccine.
After 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.”
The Malcolm X College site and other mass vaccination centers will be available to non-hospital healthcare workers by appointment as part of “Phase 1a” of distribution, which includes healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents. Arwady said she qualified because she sees patients on a volunteer basis.
Employees at outpatient and other non-hospital settings are receiving a code to make an appointment for the free vaccine, with the City Colleges of Chicago site already booked for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Phase 1a will likely take up all of January and most of February, Arwady said. In late February, the vaccines are expected to expand into phase “1b,” for older Chicagoans and frontline healthcare workers.
The city also also 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 healthcare access, Arwady said.
She said she hopes her confidence in the vaccine encourages other people to feel the same when it’s their turn to get the shot.
“I am really, really pleased to be able to get my vaccine today,” Arwady said. “I have absolutely no hesitation about it. I’ve been anxious to get it, but I did not want to jump my place in line.”
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