After the village of Oak Park received approval from the state as a vaccination provider, officials say they could begin offering COVID-19 vaccines to frontline employees later this month.
As one of the few towns with its own municipal health department, the village of Oak Park applied for and received approval from the state on Nov. 27 to become an authorized vaccine provider once a vaccine is approved, officials said.
An advisory committee within the Food and Drug Administration will meet Thursday to discuss Pfizer’s request for emergency-use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine. The committee will make a recommendation to the FDA, which will make the ultimate decisions on approval. If approved, vaccines could begin to be distributed to United States residents within days.
Village manager Cara Pavlicek told the village board at its Dec. 7 meeting that Oak Park could receive an initial allocation of COVID-19 vaccines by the middle of the month.
“Staff has actually been working through vaccination planning since August,” Pavlicek said. “[State and federal agencies] are meeting regularly and providing guidance which establishes a tiered system for vaccination of individuals in the United States.”
Once the United States authorizes use of a COVID-19 vaccine, Pavlicek said the Illinois Department of Public Health would distribute its allotment of vaccines to authorized providers, including Oak Park.
Pavlicek said that initial allotment would be provided to people deemed “1A” in a ranking system, which includes frontline hospital employees. Those eligible for vaccines include employees at Rush Oak Park Hospital, West Suburban Medical Center, PCC Wellness Center and the village’s firefighters/paramedics, she said.
“Another group that can receive those initial vaccines are paramedics,” Pavlicek said. “We will work on a process for vaccination of paramedics. In all those categories, vaccinations are not mandatory, but optional. We also believe our initial vaccination over at least the first four to six weeks will be the two-dose vaccinations. Every allotment we get on a weekly basis, it includes the second dose.”
Pavlicek said federal and state agreements with pharmaceutical companies will lead to vaccines being distributed to the village’s nursing homes and senior facilities.
“We will neither receive nor deliver those vaccinations,” Pavlicek said. “This is an adult-only vaccination, but I still don’t think there’s a complete definition on age and whether that’s 18. That will be decided before it’s out.”
Information about how the general public can receive the vaccine would likely be released early next year, Pavlicek said.
Trustee Arti Walker-Peddakotla urged the village to create a robust communication campaign to ensure that minority residents, who have been disproportionately affected by the virus, have confidence in the vaccine.
“I believe vaccinations are super important,” Walker-Peddakotla said. “I understand, especially in minority communities, there is a distrust of vaccinations and government health programs. I hope there’s education in messaging that’s specifically tailored to those groups of individuals so we can increase trust in this process.”
Pavlicek said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been discussing such an initiative, and said more information would be released once dates of availability become more certain.
“We’re very sensitive to make sure we reach all of our residents,” Pavlicek said. “We want to make sure everybody has the same trust in the vaccination.”
While the larger public waits for vaccine availability, Pavlicek urged the community to keep practicing the safety measures that have become commonplace in 2020.
“We know people will need to continue to wear masks, socially distance and wash their hands, even once the vaccine is out there,” Pavlicek said. “This is going to take a process, but I have great confidence in our public health staff that we are putting together really good processes so the minute we have vaccination and can move to the general population, we’re going to be very organized in there to do it. Our work is ramping up greatly.”
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