PEORIA, Ill. — As Britain approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use Wednesday and the United States is assumed to soon follow suit, Peoria City/County Health Administrator Monica Hendrickson said Thursday “there is a horizon.”
“We hope by the end of this week the FDA will have given emergency-use authorization for two vaccines,” said Hendrickson. “From mid-December to the end of December, we will see the first shipments arrive locally.”
Pfizer’s vaccine is the first one expected to be approved by the FDA, and it must be stored at -80 degrees Celsius.
Moderna’s vaccine is expected to follow and has to be stored at -20 degrees Celsius, which is common to other shots, according to Hendrickson.
In the coming days, the health department is expecting the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to release their plan for distributing the vaccine.
“From there we will start really looking to the planning and processes. . . to how it’s going to be distributed,” said Hendrickson.
For the area to be at a level of immunity to ease mitigations, 80% of people would need to receive the vaccine.
Because of that number, Hendrickson says it will be a process in getting people vaccinated.
“It doesn’t mean that getting vaccinated is a way to lax any of our mitigations,” said Hendrickson. “We want to make sure we give all of our community a fighting chance.”
Hendrickson encouraged area residents to continue following safety guidelines as people start receiving the vaccination.
In the case of COVID-19, those who receive the vaccine will receive two doses, 28 days apart.
