January 27, 2021
When healthcare workers from NorthShore University HealthSystem received the COVID-19 vaccine in mid-December, uptake rates hovered just above 50 percent.
Lakshmi Halasyamani, chief medical officer at NorthShore, said the health system sent out over 11,000 vaccination tickets to get approximately 6,000 workers inoculated.
Participation rates have since risen. But Halasyamani said her team anticipated the initial low turnout, given NorthShoreâs diversity in race, ethnicity and political views.
âOur vaccination efforts within healthcare ecosystems are kind of a microcosm of our communities,â she said. âWeâre seeing those same concerns in our populations.â
Scholars say decades of institutional racism have laid a foundation for legitimate distrust in medicine. As NorthShore and AMITA Health work with the Evanston government to distribute the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, local experts emphasize the need for messaging tailored to resident