Listen to the radio story, which features brief interviews with Wanda Foster and Raeva Farris
Farris urged people to take advantage of the Illinois Department of Public Health s free COVID-19 testing offered in Macomb on Monday, December 21; Wednesday, December 30; and Saturday, January 2. The testing will be done in Q lot on the Western Illinois University campus from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.
Farris said she can see a light at the end of the tunnel for the pandemic. But she said we are not out of the woods yet. It will only get better when everybody takes part and follows what the CDC and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) recommend, she said. We all have to cooperate and work together.
Healthcare workers in Macomb begin receiving vaccine
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At McDonough District Hospital, Dr. Jack McPherson was the first person to receive the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine in West Central Illinois.
MACOMB, Ill. (WGEM) Just after 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon, the page turned to a new chapter in a book that began in early March for local healthcare workers in Macomb.
At McDonough District Hospital, Dr. Jack McPherson was the first person to receive the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine in West Central Illinois. I m a little bit older than a lot of our current docs, said McPherson. I have a few extra pounds on board and I have a few chronic medical diseases, so just about everything that fits the criteria fits me.
MDH Board discusses vaccinations
Voice Correspondent
MACOMB Chief Nursing Officer Wanda Foster briefed the McDonough District Hospital Board of Directors on coronavirus vaccination plans at the board s Monday meeting. As of Monday night, MDH had not gotten a call from the Illinois Department of Public Health about the vaccine. but there was an assumption that it would arrive from Peoria on Tuesday.
Foster discussed distribution priorities. She said shots need to be administered within five days of arrival and said each person getting a shot would get a data card as part of the vaccination process, plus a note to get a second shot 21 days later. Three weeks later, we could get more vaccine, including the second doses, Foster said. She noted that staff from CVS Pharmacy and Walgreen s would give vaccinations to residents and staff at area nursing homes.