First COVID-19 Vaccine Shipment Arrives In Illinois

PEORIA, IL — The first shipment of coronavirus vaccines arrived Monday morning at the Illinois Strategic National Stockpile, as the state's kicks off implementation of its vaccine distribution plan.

On a visit to the Peoria site that will serve as a hub for distributing the vaccine outside the city of Chicago, Gov. J.B. Pritzker described the mass vaccination effort as the "largest national mission in a generation." The precise location of the strategic stockpile is kept classified for national security reasons.

Pritzker toured the strategic stockpile Monday with state police and emergency management officials as some of the first boxes of the shipment — each containing 4,800 doses kept cold with 50 pounds of dry ice — were unpacked and loaded into ultra-cold freezers.

"I'm excited for all of us, for everybody involved in this first day. There's probably nothing that's happened in a century that's as massive a mission as what we're embarking on, all of us, and this is the first day of that mission," Pritzker said to workers at the facility. "We're going to save an awful lot of people's lives."

State emergency management officials received about 43,000 doses in the first shipment. The vast majority of those doses will be delivered to regional hospital coordination centers around the state, according to Pritzker's office. The rest will go directly to health departments.

The city of Chicago received a direct shipment from the federal government Monday, according to the governor's office. Later this week, the Cook County Department of Public Health and the Lake, Madison and St. Clair County health departments are scheduled to receive the rest of the state's initial allocation of 100,000 doses.

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The Centers for Disease Control have provided recommendations for how the first vaccines should be distributed in the initial phase, with priority given to health care workers and nursing home residents. But each state is ultimately responsible for coming up with its own distribution plan and priorities.

In Illinois, 10 hospitals will serve as regional distribution hubs. Each are equipped with freezers suitable for preserving the vaccine. Local health departments will be able to pick up doses of the vaccine from a coordinating center in their emergency medical services region.

RELATED: Illinois Vaccine Plan: What You Need To Know

They include Rockford Memorial Hospital in Region 1, OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria in Region 2, St. John's Hospital in Springfield in Region 3, Memorial Hospital in Belleville in Region 4, SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale in Region 5, Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana in Region 6, Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in Region 7, Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood in Region 8, Advocate Sherman Medical Center in Elgin in Region 9 and Highland Park Hospital in Region 10.

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“Today marks a momentous occasion — not just this year, but in American history. Eleven months after scientists the world over first got their hands on the genetic sequence of this virus — and we are seeing the beginning of the end of this pandemic,” Pritzker said in a statement after his visit to the stockpile.

“I want to offer my gratitude not only to the researchers who fueled this moment, but also to all the truck drivers, pilots, logistics specialists, warehouse operations managers, and law enforcement officers who have spent the last few days and weeks deploying the largest national mission in a generation," he said. "May we all take a moment to feel hope today.”

Watch: Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office released video of the vaccine's arrival at the Strategic National Stockpile Monday »