Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady receives the first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at a new mass vaccination clinic on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. (Chicago Mayor’s Office / Facebook)
Chicago officials opened a mass vaccination clinic for health care workers Tuesday at Malcolm X City College as efforts to ramp up COVID-19 vaccinations continued.
At the center’s opening, Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, got the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine as part of the city’s campaign to convince those skeptical about the vaccine to get inoculated.
Arwady said she had none of the common immediate side effects from the vaccine after the shot, and looked forward to returning in three weeks for her second and final dose of the vaccine, which trials showed was nearly 95% effective at preventing COVID-19 and caused no serious side effects.
“I feel great,” Arwady said. “Every person who is vaccinated brings us one step closer to normal.”
Arwady urged all Chicagoans to get vaccinated when they become eligible.
Those eligible to be vaccinated at Malcolm X include all health care workers, including dentists, home aides and morticians, Arwady said.
To be vaccinated at Malcolm X, those eligible must register at chicago.gov/covidvax and make an appointment.
Chicago’s 400,000 health care workers are expected to be vaccinated by the end of February, along with residents of long-term care facilities, Arwady said. The next phase of the vaccination effort is likely to include essential workers, including teachers.
Preschool and special education teachers are scheduled to return to school buildings on Monday in order to prepare for approximately 6,500 students to return for in-person class on Jan. 11. Elementary school students are expected to return Feb. 1.
READ: CPS: Majority of Pre-K, Cluster Program Teachers, Staff Returning for In-Person Learning
The Chicago Teachers Union opposes those plans, and has challenged the reopening in court and could strike.
The city’s COVID-19 test positivity rate is 8.4%, according to data compiled by the Chicago Department of Public Health. Seven days ago, it was 10.2%.
There is now an average of 1,075 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day, based on a seven-day rolling average. That’s down 16% in a week, according to city data.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
