Putnam County Record / putnamcountyrecord.com • Wednesday, December 23, 2020
PUTNAM COUNTY RECORD
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BUREAU, LASALLE COUNTIES
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First COVID-19 vaccines administered in Bureau, LaSalle counties BY JAYCE EUSTICE jeustice@shawmedia.com At about 4:45 p.m. Dec. 16 staff gathering in the Joint Replacement Center at Illinois Valley Community Hospital erupted into a round of applause as Dr. Ricardo Calderon walked through the door to be the first at the Peru hospital to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “I feel honored about it,” Calderon said. “I grew up here, this is my hometown, so it’s nice to be able to help them in this regard.” The center was constructed to serve as a safe and effective area to administer the highly-anticipated vaccine on the second floor of the IVCH building in Peru. Calderon sat down and was given the first of what will be two injections and remained in the room as professionals watched for any possible side effects, like they do with many other vaccines. “It feels great actually, now the big thing is trying to get patients to get it done,” Calderon said. “This is something we’ve been looking forward to, something we’ve been expecting, and from my standpoint after reading through all the information about it. I obviously think it’s safe.” Calderon received one of the 295 doses of the Pfizer COVID vaccines the hospital was provided. The shipment arrived at about 4 p.m. Wednesday and was quickly administered to those workers on the front lines. The atmosphere in the room was positive among others. The vaccine was sent to IVCH from the LaSalle County Health Department and will be strictly given to front line healthcare workers, emergency care staff as well as emergency medical services in the area. The two other hospitals, OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa and OSF St. Paul Medical Center in Mendota, each received their vaccinations. “The vaccine will provide our front-line health care workers with the protection they need while caring for patients who have contracted the virus,” said Julie Kerestes, public health administrator for the LaSalle County Health Department. “We appreciate the partnership between our local hospitals, EMA and sheriff’s office. All have helped to ensure the timeliness and safety of the vaccine delivery into our county.” The scene was similar across the county line at Perry Memorial Hospital in Prinecton. The Pfizer vaccine was delivered
Shaw Media photo/Scott Anderson
Dr. Ricardo Calderon recieves the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from nurse educator Ashley Freitag at Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru. Dr. Calderon was the first staff member at IVCH to receive the vaccine at the hospital. to the hospital by leaders of the Bureau County Health Department and rolled on a cart to the fourth floor of the hospital where it was carefully and quickly unpacked in an empty clinic office set up temporarily for the administration of the vaccine to frontline workers. Perry was allotted 110 vaccines during this first round. The first in line at Perry to receive the vaccine were Baylee Tillman, who conducts testing in the COVID drive-thru clinic at the hospital, and Dr. Chris Blanford, who received the vaccine from his mother, Kathy Blanford, Perry’s infection control nurse. St. Margaret’s in Spring Valley received roughly 150 doses geared for “patient-facing” workers with the highest risk of exposure. That includes those in the emergency department, ICU, medical surgical nurses and hospitalist physician, as well as other clinical providers like respiratory therapy, lab, diagnostic imaging, drive-thru test center staff and others. Hospital officials will be working over the next fews days to schedule times to get their most vulnerable population the first round of the COVID vaccine. After receiving this initial injection, recipients then will have to return in three weeks to receive a second shot of the vaccine. Recipients of the initial vaccine
didn’t show any side effects at the time and IVCH Community Relations and Marketing Director Joan Fernandez said this appears to be like any other vaccine. “The normal signs and symptoms of getting any flu shot is your arm might be sore,” Fernandez said. “Also remember it is revving up your immune system so it is normal to feel a little warm or flush or feverish or achey. We will see how things go.” As with a lot of medical procedures and medicines the experience can be different for each individual. Following the vaccine, recipients are instructed to download and use a program called V-Safe that allows them to let the CDC know of any side effects and will remind them to get their second dose of the vaccine. According to Fernandez, nursing home staff and residents will follow healthcare workers in receiving the COVID vaccine. These individuals will receive their own supply of vaccines that will not be administered through IVCH. Once frontline health workers begin to receive the vaccine, the mass vaccination of the general public will be a process healthcare professionals are working and preparing for as more and more doses are created.
— Bureau County Republican associate editor Goldie Rapp contributed to this report.
