CHARLESTON, IL – The Coles County Health Department has delivered the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital. Front-line health care workers at Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital will be given the vaccine as soon as today. Coles County Health Department (CCHD), with the assistance of Coles County Sheriff’s Office secured the vaccine from Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana and delivered it to Sarah Bush Lincoln’s main campus in Mattoon.
Coles County was one of the first 50 counties in Illinois to receive the vaccine due to the high number of deaths, 66 as of December 15, 2020, affiliated with COVID-19 in our county. CCHD continues to promote residents to socially distance, wear a mask when in public, wash hands frequently, and avoid large gatherings. Those receiving the vaccine are limited to front-line health care workers at this time, due to the limited number of doses. However, when the priority populations are immunized, they will be made available to the public. CCHD will post any public immunization dates on our Facebook and website, as well as the newly acquired CodeRED, a public notification system. We encourage all residents to enroll on CodeRED for the latest information regarding COVID-19, and other important news of relevance to the county. To enroll, text the keyword “ColesAlerts” to 99411 and follow the directions.
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