Vermilion County residents who received a COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday at the Fischer Theatre didn’t have any trouble finding where to go.
Several volunteers and staff members were present throughout the front entrance of the facility during the first of several weekly vaccination clinics, from inside the gift shop area where people first entered the building, to inside the auditorium where people waited once they received their vaccine.
According to Vermilion County Health Department Administrator Doug Toole, a large network of community members and medical staff showed up to make sure the event ran smoothly.
“We’re lucky in that case in two fronts: the nursing schools that we’ve had relationships with–DACC, the U of I and also Lakeview School of Nursing–are all providing us with some nurses for this,” he explained. “Another advantage of having this at the Fischer is that built-in supply of volunteers who are used to handling large events.”
After patients entered the building, they were given a card with a number on it, and were then seated in chairs in the building’s lobby where they filled out consent forms and waited for their turn. Staff members called out numbers, and then people were seated along the walls of the lobby. Six nurses were present to administer the vaccines–three at each table.
Once a person received the vaccine, they were directed to the auditorium, where they received a packet of information along with a timer. A vintage movie played on the screen for them to enjoy while they waited.
Toole says the smaller clinics held earlier at the health department’s building helped his staff to plan for this event.
“It took a lot of planning and organization, and we were happy that we were able to spend as much time as we did with the 200-person clinics we held at the health department to work out some of the bugs in the system,” he said. “We’ve got a pretty good process worked out now.”
Toole says that 560 people received their COVID-19 vaccines at the Fischer on Thursday. Other clinics are scheduled there on February 18th and 25th. Due to a limited supply of the Moderna vaccine in Illinois, however, Toole says that the department will not be scheduling appointments for its clinics in March for the time being. The Fischer clinics are being held weekly, as that is the only time emergency staff from OSF HealthCare can be present.
