McLean County administers 100,000 dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Posted on April 23, 2021
Shelby Morris received her first does of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday. (Photo courtesy: Blake Haas/WJBC)

By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – McLean County celebrated a significant milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday, administering 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at Carle Health.

Shelby Morris, a Junior at Clinton Community High School, received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at Carle Bloomington Pediatrics.

“It didn’t really hurt at all; I barely even felt it. I mainly just got it because I want, like, I want everything to go back to normal, I guess, as much as it can. Like, I just want my community safe. And if me getting the vaccine means that people around me can be safer than they are now, then yea, I’ll get the vaccine.”

Tim Bassett, Vice President of Support and Ancillary Services at Carle Health, said he’s proud of how teams have mobilized across the county to bring vaccine access to residents.

“To be honest, I think I’m definitely encouraged by the fact that we were able to achieve it (100,000 doses) so quickly. Certainly with the release of the vaccine late last year, it was a little uncertain on when it would be made available, but I’m incredibly proud of teams that have mobilized and put the infrastructure in place, not just a Carle, but across the county….I think we have a good foundation to build off of, but it’s really exciting to be sitting here today looking at 100,000 doses administered.”

As of Friday, 10.8 million doses have been administered in Illinois, with 8.6 million Illinoisans fully vaccinated.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].

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