IL Gov. Pritzker partners with Centreville hospital to expand COVID vaccine access
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday announced a new partnership with Touchette Regional Hospital as part of a pilot program to expand vaccine access in communities of color.
Under the pilot program, which launched Wednesday, the state will work directly with health centers and safety net hospitals to better reach underserved areas.
Starting next week, Touchette Regional Hospital will receive 300-500 doses per week from the Illinois Department of Public Health to administer to area residents. If supply allows, doses can also be used for local vaccination clinics.
“It’s very important to me that communities like Centreville get what they need, get what they deserve - in terms of health care access - and especially in this very difficult time as we get past this pandemic as we make sure that people get vaccinated,” Pritzker said at a press conference at the hospital.
Touchette Regional Hospital is the only affiliate in the metro-east and one of nine included in the new pilot program. The program will eventually expand to include additional critical access hospitals in the state. Touchette is working on the details of when it will start administering the vaccines to residents.
Illinois has administered nearly 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. In St. Clair County, about 66,000 vaccine doses have been administered, with almost 18,000 people fully vaccinated.
But Pritzker said there’s more work to be done to make sure that everyone has access to COVID-19 vaccines and understands the vaccinations are safe.
The lack of vaccine accessibility in communities of color is already evident in the state. About 8% of vaccine doses administered have gone to Black residents, compared nearly 63% for white residents, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“Even if we had enough vaccine today, we know that many people will still choose not to get the vaccine, so it’s important that we get the message out to those who are vaccine-hesitant that these vaccines are safe,” Pritzker said. “They offer real protection, effective protection and are key to ending this pandemic.”
“While it’s everyone’s choice to get vaccinated, for those who have any concerns, we need to be sure that they have all the facts. It could save their lives. It’s OK to have questions or even worries about these vaccines, but these vaccines are safe, and it’s important for you to know that.”
In Black communities, like Centreville, a shared sentiment of distrust against taking the vaccine persists due to the history of medical racism in the United States.
As of December, 62% of Black adults in the country reported that they were planning to take the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. It’s an increase from an earlier poll by the foundation, which found that 50% of Black adults would take the vaccine. Still, half of Black adults aren’t confident that the development of the vaccine considers the needs of Black people.
Prtizker said that his team has been working to ensure the vaccine safety concerns of Black communities in the state are heard. Since January, the Illinois Department of Public Health has held two events with faith-based organizations in the metro-east in an effort to achieve that goal.
“We’re engaging in an effort to communicate with those who are vaccine hesitant by debunking misinformation pushed on social media and acknowledging that some people do distrust the healthcare system or the government, but we have to meet people where they are in the ways that truly will earn their trust,” Pritzker said. “We also want to be sure that we’re getting Black and brown people who have too often been denied healthcare that should be their right.”
Prizker was joined by Sen. Chris Belt, D-Centreville, and Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, both of whom stressed the importance of the state partnering with a hospital in a Black community, which they say can heavily reduce vaccine hesitancy and increase access.
“These additional shots that are here at Touchette Hospital - that’s huge,” Belt said. “Huge in communities like Centreville where in 2018, the USA Today named the poorest city not in Illinois, but in the United States.
“Transportation is and has always been a prohibitive factor and so having a place in the neighborhood, in the community where residents can go get these shots will be huge and is beneficial, and to have a place that’s reputable, that’s been here that they trust the relationships are there, is huge,” Belt said. “We know what this pandemic can do, so we really have to get out and educate our public about the benefits of having the vaccination.”
Greenwood encouraged residents to get the vaccine given the virus’ adverse effects on Black residents.
“As we continue to fight COVID-19 across the state, to know that the most vulnerable populations will have access to the vaccination is a priority,” Greenwood said. “We know the statistics in how COVID-19 has impacted Black Illinoisans who have been shown to be disproportionately affected by the hardships of the pandemic.”
Currently, there isn’t a set date for when Touchette Regional Hospital will begin administering the vaccine.
Steve Tomaszewski, the hospital’s director of communication and development planning, said the logistics for residents receiving the vaccine are still being worked out, but it’s likely that doses can start being administered in two weeks.
“If we get vaccine from the state next week, then we will probably give it out the following week,” Tomaszewski said. “Most likely, the earliest (residents can start making appointments) will be around the fifteenth of the month, but we’re not to the point in saying here’s the place and time in how you do it and what you’d bring just because it’s so new.
“If people want to call the hospital and try to make appointments, we’re not at the point in being able to do that.”
Pritzker said the shortage of vaccines across the nation can make getting an appointment difficult for Illinois residents. However, as the Biden administration plans to vaccinate every adult by the end of May, Prtizker said he expects to see an increase in doses being given to the state in coming months.
“While we wait for more vaccine, please be sure to mask up and to take care of each other as you have been for many months so we can all reach the other side of this pandemic together,” the governor said.
This story was originally published March 5, 2021 at 7:00 AM with the headline "IL Gov. Pritzker partners with Centreville hospital to expand COVID vaccine access."
