Hundreds of COVID vaccines later – little to no side effects

Both Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox and AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet finished up with the first injections of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this weekend.

Both hospitals began vaccinating staff on Wednesday afternoon.

Neither Silver Cross nor St. Joe’s reported any serious adverse effects from the vaccine and both hospitals feels spirits are still high among staff.

Dr. Christopher Udovich, Silver Cross Hospital chief medical director, said the only reactions Silver Cross staff have experienced from the vaccine are a little arm soreness and a slight rash.

One person had some lip tingling, which was due to anxiety, he said.

“We did not have to send anyone to the ER,” Udovich said.

Udovich said that Silver Cross is currently working through the process of getting doses of the Moderna vaccine. On Dec. 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the prevention of COVID-19.

The Moderna vaccine is the second vaccine to receive this authorization. The Pfizer vaccine was the first.

How many vaccines Silver Cross receives is still unknown, he said.

The vaccine may arrive this week, he said. If it does, Silver Cross will most likely begin vaccinating next week, he said.

Like the Pfizer vaccine, the Moderna vaccine will also require two injections. Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, the second dose of the Moderna vaccine is given four weeks after the first. With the Pfizer vaccine, the second does is given three weeks after the first one.

Another difference is that the Pfizer vaccine needs to be used within five days. The Moderna must be used within 30, Udovich said.

But Silver Cross won’t be waiting a month to administer it.

“I think the health department wants us to get it out as quick as possible,” Udovich said.

After speaking with Sajani Patel, vice president of operations at St. Joe’s, Timothy Nelson, spokesperson for AMITA Health, said AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet provided the COVID-19 vaccine to nearly 1,600 associates and physicians over the past four days.

The vaccination process went smoothly, and everyone seemed very appreciative to receive the first dose, Nelson said.

Furthermore, no one who received the vaccine experience any serious adverse reactions that required medical treatment, Nelson said,

Planning is underway for second dose clinics to be held in early January, Nelson said. AMITA Health is currently working through the process to receive the Moderna vaccine, he added.