COVID-19 Vaccine
On December 15th 2020, The Loretto Hospital administered the first COVID-19
vaccines in the city of Chicago. This is a historic day for our hospital
and our city. Five individuals, including three Loretto Hospital employees,
received the vaccine. Today was another step forward in our commitment
to mitigating health disparities in the Austin community.
In our auditorium, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, The Loretto Hospital President
and CEO George Miller, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner
Dr. Alison Arwady, and others addressed the Chicago community. We would
like to extend our sincerest thanks to
Mayor Lightfoot and
Dr. Arwady.
The Loretto Hospital and our colleagues at safety net hospitals across
the city have been on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19 since
day one. We are aware that the Black and Latinx communities we serve have
been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, with a death rate more
than 60 percent higher than Chicago as a whole. With this in mind, we
are committed to doing what’s best for our community.
While we understand the history behind our community’s skepticism
surrounding this vaccine, we are confident in its safety and its necessity
in achieving herd immunity within our community. In an effort to increase
the reach of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, The Loretto Hospital is
The Loretto Hospital is currently conducting four separate COVID-19 treatment
trials in tandem with major biopharmaceutical company partners along with
three separate COVID vaccine trials, designed to ensure the inclusion
of Black and Latino participants in these studies beginning in January of 2021.

We are following the FDA guidelines and administering the COVID-19 vaccine
to our front-line workers at The Loretto Hospital. The city allocates
a limited amount of tests based on categories, the first of which is frontline
healthcare workers. We are looking forward to the time when we will be
able to vaccinate our entire community.
As stated before, the Loretto Hospital is currently taking part in COVID-19
vaccine trials. Participants will be able to receive a vaccine, be compensated
and will receive free healthcare for up to two years, regardless of insurance
status, including medical examinations by Board certified physicians and
bloodwork. They are free to opt out of the study at any point. If you
are interested in learning more, you can follow this link:
https://affinityhealthcorp.com/covid-19-vaccine/
Despite the arrival of this vaccine, it is still imperative to follow the
steps necessary to reduce the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19:
wear a mask, wash your hands, social distance. We also offer free COVID-19
testing in front of The Loretto Hospital every weekday from 9:00 a.m.
- 12:00 p.m.
For any media inquiries regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, please contact
Bonni Pear at 312.565.0044 ext. 1105 or bpear@agencyinmotion.com.