PEORIA â In a historic moment, health care workers in Chicago and Peoria on Tuesday became the first groups in Illinois to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, marking what Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike called âthe beginning of the endâ of the pandemic.
The vaccine, developed by the drug companies Pfizer and BioNTech, was granted Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week and is now being shipped throughout the United States. Early studies have shown that after two doses that are given 21 days apart, the vaccine is 95% effective in preventing the disease.