Mengshin Lin/Sun-Times
Thanks to partnerships with the Chicago Department of Public Health, distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to homeless shelters has become a citywide priority.
Over 2,200 initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to homeless residents and shelter staff across the city, according to city officials Tuesday afternoon at Pacific Garden Mission, a homeless shelter in the Near West Side.
“We want people experiencing homelessness to know that they are a priority for the city and their health matters,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.
“We want people experiencing homelessness to know that they are a priority for the city and their health matters,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, on Tuesday at Pacific Garden Mission.
According to Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, more than 2,000 doses of the vaccine have been given to homeless shelters during the pandemic, an important part of the more than half-million COVID vaccine doses administered throughout the city. “Long term care facilities or homeless shelters where we’re at, where we’ve disproportionally seen a lot of cases, we know it’s hard to always have all of the distancing and all of those things in place,” she said.
“We are so grateful to CDPH for providing these vaccines. Prioritizing people experiencing homelessness and prioritizing people in Black and Brown communities is critical,” Dr. Alex Porte, a physician at the mission, added.