Will County health officials hope full approval of Pfizer vaccine will convince some to get the jab

Health officials and business leaders in Will County hope the full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will encourage more people to get their shot.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the vaccine its strongest endorsement on Monday.

“I think this will shift the opinion of some,” said Cindy Jackson the Will County Health Department’s director of mass vaccination.

Still, Jackson said she doesn’t expect a “huge” change in opinion in favor the vaccine from those who were already skeptical.

At the moment, Jackson said, while the county health department is discussing possible changes in its strategy to provide vaccines for the public, she isn’t expecting the need to reopen the types of mass vaccination sites the county used earlier this year.

She noted that residents seeking a vaccine have more options today than they did just a few months ago when supply struggled to meet the high demand. More private providers and pharmacies have vaccines available for those who want it.

Plus, the county health department has been traveling around to various community events to host pop-up clinics, a strategy Jackson said has been successful. Daily injections have increased over the past few weeks in Will County, according to Illinois Department of Public Health data.

“We are reaching them where they’re at,” Jackson said, adding the department is seeing a steady number of residents getting vaccinated, including many for their first dose.

Already on Monday, the Will County Health Department posted a photo on its Facebook page alerting followers to the approval of the Pfizer vaccine with a link to where residents could schedule an appointment.

Some large local businesses may use the full approval as reason to mandate vaccination for their employees, said Mike Paone, the vice president for government affairs at the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce.

“They understand it’s a production (issue),” Paone said of large employers, adding that if workers get infected or need to quarantine, “that creates issues with work flow.”

Kevin O’Keeffe, the executive director of the Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerce, said he’s unsure how many people the approval will convince to get a shot, but he said he’s seen many businesses willing to mandate vaccinations for their workers to help protect them and their customers.

“If it increases by one person, then that’s one more person we got (protected from the virus),” O’Keeffe said.

Local health officials would agree with that.

Dr. Christopher Udovich, chief medical officer at Silver Cross Hospital, said in an email that he hopes those “who’ve been hesitant to get the vaccine now have the assurance they need of the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.”

“And as COVID-19 cases continue to climb across the nation and in Will County,” Udovich added, “we hope those who haven’t yet will make the decision to get vaccinated.”

Dr. Robert S. Schubert, an internal medicine doctor with DuPage Medical Group in Joliet, agreed with Udovich – although FDA approval probably won’t sway people who are resistant to vaccinations in general, he said.

Schubert said the FDA reviewed an enormous amount of data in order to change its authorization from emergency use to regular approval.

“Very few vaccines have gotten this much data this quickly – in fact, none,” Schubert said.

Schubert said the FDA is very conservative in its approval process and that those who feel the vaccine was “rushed” are using the wrong adjective.

“I wouldn’t say it was rushed,” Schubert said. “I would says it was brought to market as soon as humanly possible.”

COVID-19 has impacted people more than any illness “in our time,” Schubert said, so it was necessary to “come up with a vaccine very quickly.” Schubert said the fact that not one death has been associated with the vaccine should be a compelling reason to get one, although no vaccine is not without adverse effects.

“Life is a series of risks,” Schubert said. “I drove to work today because the benefits of getting to work outweigh the risk of a car accident or getting hit by a meteor on the way to work.”

Dr. Kalisha Hill, regional chief medical officer for AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet, said she is “very, very excited” and called the full approval “a step in the right direction” – especially in with the rise in delta variant cases.

“I personally know people who had COVID before and they are now in their second go-around of having COVID. Some people are vaccinated, and some people aren’t,” Hill said. “If you are vaccinated and you get COVID, your outcome is much better.”

Hill is confident that the Modern and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will also be approved in time, she said.

“I just want to reiterate that being vaccinated is your best defense,” Hill said. “And we want everyone vaccinated as soon as possible.”