SUN CITY – Residents of Sun City definitely took notice when an email blast from the First Service Residential (FSR) management team arrived, informing residents of the news many had been waiting months to hear. In partnership with Walgreens and Jewel Osco pharmacies, Sun City was prepared to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents who signed up.
The vaccinations, which began on February 4, took place in the Birch Room as well as the Drendel Ballroom at Prairie Lodge. Similarly, to how long-term care living facilities in the area distributed their vaccines to their residents and staff, the vaccines that were administered to Sun City residents, were allocated by county health departments as explained by Jewel Osco pharmacy technician Clara Ryan.
“The clinic is actually being held by the Del Webb management. We’re just coming in there to give the vaccines. Everything is allocated from the county. Del Webb management, they’re handling all the appointments over there,” Ryan said. “I believe that they’re handling it, oldest going down to youngest. I believe they’re starting with the 85 and up first and they’re talking to all the residents over there about how they can sign up and such.”
A few Sun City residents were able to describe their experience with the Sun City vaccination clinics.
Betty Callahan recalled being pleased at how organized the Sun City clinic was, as she went into detail into how residents did not have to wait in long lines to receive their COVID-19 vaccine.
“[You] filled out these forms and then [the staff] checked it, and then you went inside and sat down or stood up and waited until another place was empty and then they take you over there, and they have us sit for like 15 minutes after we come out to make sure there’s no [allergic] reaction,” Callahan said of her Feb. 11 appointment experience.
Callahan was made aware of the clinic by her neighbor and was excited at the prospect that she wouldn’t have to go elsewhere to receive the vaccine.
She admits that at first, she was reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“You hear so many different rumors about things and what it can do and I thought, I’m 80-years old. Am I going to get this thing and then something happens? But my son-in-law is a fire chief in Naperville and of course he had to get it, and he said he had no reaction to it. Then I talked to one of my friends that I used to work with out here, and he got the second shot and he said the only thing he felt was maybe a little woozy he said, at one time during the day, but then everything was fine,” Callahan explained.
Here, SC resident Michael Pribich goes over some simple paperwork prior to receiving the vaccine.
“I was definitely saying no, I’m not getting it, I’m not getting it. You know, but talking to my friends that got it and everybody and my son-in-law who said, ‘believe me, it’s safe,’ and then my daughter’s friend who works in Washington at the health department over there, because I was concerned about the DNA stuff that you hear [about] and I said, ‘You’re going to change my DNA?’ and she said no way, there is nothing like that used in the shot.”
Jerry Mecozzi and his wife got their first Pfizer vaccine on Feb. 4 and like Callahan, agreed that the Sun City clinics were well organized and accommodating for residents that could not stand in line for long periods of time.
“We had no reaction at all. The shot we got here, two weeks ago, was similar to the shot we get for the ordinary flu, that we get there every year. There’s no after effects at all. I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to get it. The science tells us that it’s the thing to do. I would recommend it, certainly,” Mecozzi said, who has been a resident of Sun City since 2001.
Vicki Goldberg received her COVID-19 vaccine in the Birch Room on Feb. 4, explaining that she did not experience any side-effects from her initial Pfizer dose.
“It was so well orchestrated. You know, they checked everybody in and it just moved right along. In and out, probably in 20 minutes, including the waiting period. It was [a] sign up online,” Goldberg said.
As for her final thoughts, she stated, “What I would like to do is, complement the staff here at Sun City for getting this so well-orchestrated and setup and doing something so very important for the residents.”
Residents received information on when they would need to return for their next dose. For those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the second dose would typically need to be administered within 21 days while the interval for the Moderna vaccine, between the first and second dose, is 28 days. Though Callahan states that Sun City staff have taken care of setting up that next appointment for residents to receive their second dose.
FSR executive director Deanna Loughran sent out a weekly email blast to Sun City residents shortly after the clinics took place. In the email, she gives thanks to all of the FSR staff and community volunteers who aided in running the clinics while also extending appreciation towards Jewel Osco and Walgreens.
Loughran ends her email with the following statement, “I am so very honored to have played a small part in this history making project. I am the luckiest Executive Director because I get to continue to work alongside these wonderful people!”
