St. Joseph Health System is one of 50 sites in the state of Indiana that will receive a shipment of COVID-19 vaccine later this week.
Chief Clinical Officer Gen Lankowicz said the health system is set to receive 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine Thursday, Dec. 17, which staff will begin administering on Friday.
In compliance with state guidelines, Lankowicz said only healthcare workers and long term care residents and staff are eligible for those first doses. But, anyone in those two groups can get vaccinated at either the health system’s medical pavilion on Cedar Street in South Bend or its acute care campus in Plymouth.
“We have agreed to be the community’s vaccinator," Lankowicz said. "So, if you work for any healthcare company, or you’re in private practice, you are eligible to receive your vaccine.”
Lankowicz says St. Joe Health did face some logistical challenges in developing a distribution plan – for example, finding ultra-cold storage for the vaccine and figuring out how to manage patient flow at the two sites.
But, she says she’s confident the current vaccine plan can absorb any challenges that come up once distribution begins on Friday, Dec. 18.
Contact Gemma at gdicarlo@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @gemma_dicarlo
If you appreciate this kind of journalism on your local NPR station, please support it by donating here.
