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player ready...Chicago-area hospitals are gearing up to give the first COVID-19 vaccination shots to their employees as soon as early next week now that emergency use authorization has been granted by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration.
Rush University Medical Center could begin administering the vaccine to its workers as soon as Monday, depending on when the vaccine arrives, hospital officials said. University of Chicago Medicine might start inoculating employees Wednesday. Edward-Elmhurst Health, which has hospitals in west suburban Naperville and Elmhurst, is tentatively expecting to begin vaccinating its workers Tuesday.
And Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Maywood was selected as one of roughly three dozen veterans health administration sites across the country to receive initial doses, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Friday. The west suburban hospital was the only VA hospital in Illinois to make the list, in part because it has the capacity to store the vaccine at extremely cold temperatures, the hospital said in a news release.
In a historic milestone, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized for emergency use a COVID-19 vaccine developed by multinational pharmaceutical company Pfizer, the first shot of its kind to be administered outside of clinical trials in the U.S. Medical experts consider a vaccine the globe’s best weapon against the new virus, which has so far killed more than 14,000 in Illinois and more than 1.5 million worldwide.
Rush has already set up 10 vaccination bays and hopes to soon vaccinate about 1,000 workers a day; this is assuming each vaccination takes roughly five to seven minutes to administer and that the shots will be given from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Lisa Weichman Harries, Rush’s director of operations for employee and corporate health services.
Rush expects to receive about 1,950 doses in the first shipment, and will prioritize workers who are exposed to patients with COVID-19 or participate in procedures that generate aerosols. Employees will be notified over MyChart and email about when they can sign up for appointments.
Luke Hvass, a clinical pharmacy specialist, is one of the staff members who will immunize his colleagues. He said he’ll talk them through possible side effects and other important details, and then sterilize the injection site.
“Then it will be a quick poke, a jab in the arm,” he said.
Hvass will monitor the patients for a minute or two; if they feel fine, they’ll proceed to the waiting area where they’ll be monitored for side effects for another 15 minutes or so, he said. They’ll have a nurse available, and will also have EpiPens and Benadryl on hand, in case of any allergic reactions, he said.
After receiving the first dose, workers will immediately be signed up for an appointment to receive a booster shot.
Like the rest of his colleagues, Hvass is wondering when the vaccine will be available to him.
“Whenever my name gets called, that’s when I’ll be ready to go,” he said, smiling.
Many hospitals are already asking workers to register for vaccine appointments.
At University of Chicago Medicine, employees have been asked to create MyChart accounts, where they will receive notifications when it’s their turn and they can schedule appointments; University of Chicago Medical Center expects to get about 1,950 doses initially, and the system anticipates receiving enough doses to vaccinate all interested employees by February.
University of Chicago Medicine is vaccinating workers in three waves, giving first priority to those who work within 6 feet of patients, including nurses, doctors, food delivery workers and custodians, officials said. The second wave will be for workers who don’t provide patient care but work in spaces where patients are present. The third wave will be for employees who don’t work in facilities with patients.
Workers who are at higher risk for contracting the virus — such as those with Type 2 diabetes, serious heart conditions or cancer — will get priority within each wave, officials said.
At Edward-Elmhurst Health, employees are registering to receive appointments to get the shot; the system might get 3,900 doses in this first shipment of vaccines.
Advocate Aurora Health, which has 10 hospitals in Illinois, expects to be able to vaccinate all its interested front-line workers in the next four to six weeks, said Dr. Robert Citronberg, executive medical director of infectious disease and prevention, during a news conference Thursday.
The system is prioritizing people who work in its intensive care units, COVID-19 units and emergency rooms.
Amita Health, which has 19 hospitals in Illinois, expects to start getting vaccines Tuesday or Wednesday. Many of Amita’s hospitals will likely receive just under 1,000 doses each, initially, with some receiving less or more, said Dr. Michael Kelleher, who leads Amita Health’s COVID-19 vaccine steering committee.
Amita has made priority lists of employees to get the vaccines, and will use scheduling software to contact workers by email or phone to make appointments.
Amita is prioritizing employees who care for COVID-19 patients, such as those who work in emergency rooms and intensive care units, as well as those who participate in procedures that generate aerosols.
Though many hospitals require employees to receive flu shots each year, most are unlikely to require their workers get a COVID-19 vaccine, largely because the immunization will be authorized under an emergency use authorization rather than a regular, full FDA approval.
“While it’s been studied for a few months, we don’t have enough data about any long-term effects about it, and we think as a system a more prudent approach is to encourage the vaccine among our team members,” Citronberg said. “We are very optimistic that the vast majority of our team members will take the vaccine over the next few months.”
Drugstores and big box stores are also preparing to soon administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
North suburban Deerfield-based Walgreens anticipates getting its first doses Dec. 21, and plans to inoculate nursing home residents and workers at more than 30,000 long-term care facilities nationwide. CVS Health
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and Walmart are making plans to administer the shot in nursing homes and assisted living facilities as well.Tribune reporter Abdel Jimenez contributed.