OSF HealthCare has administered just over 4,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the past three weeks in the Tri-County region, according to Chief Nursing Officer Sarah Overton.
OSF began vaccinating patients in mid-January in category 1B, which includes people aged 65 and over. Overton said nearly 100 percent of those patients in Peoria County received an invitation to be vaccinated.
“So now we’re pivoting into second doses, which means we need to be able to bring in everyone we’ve just vaccinated and also stay with our allocation,” Overton said.
These allocations are granted by county health departments to vaccination sites and are based on state and federal distribution.
OSF patient Doug Mooney said he was relieved to receive the first vaccination.
“Well, it’s been a long time, so once they call, we’re here,” Mooney said.
Lisabeth Pongracz, who runs the Peoria vaccination facility in Peoria, said the vaccination process usually takes 20 minutes. Patients arrive for a scheduled appointment and are recorded and examined before vaccination. After receiving the vaccine, patients remain on site for a brief observation before scheduling a follow-up visit and then leaving.
Pongracz said the clinic currently administers about 500 vaccinations a day. She credited staff and volunteers for overcoming the initial challenges of increasing resources and accommodation to cope with the influx of patients.
“Now that we have the vaccine and distribute it … there’s a lot of light at the end of the tunnel and we see that every day from patients,” Pongracz said.
UnityPoint Health Services and Heartland Health Services also perform COVID-19 vaccinations for populations of 1B, with programming in the Tri-County area. Several commercial pharmacies, including HyVee, Walgreens and Kroger, also offer vaccinations to those currently eligible.
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