Vaccine rollout is an embarrassment

My mother, Donna Fletcher, suffers from early onset dementia and is a resident at the Northbrook Inn memory care facility. At 67 years old, she is among Northbrook Inn’s youngest residents. When I visited her on Jan. 15, I learned that nobody from the Illinois or federal governments has contacted the facility to advise when they can expect the COVID-19 vaccine. I have written to my mother’s state and federal representatives, but hope this letter draws attention to the horrific failure of the Illinois and federal governments to vaccinate long-term care residents and spurs the authorities to action.

The federal and state rollout of this vaccine is an embarrassment to our great country. My father, who is 70 years old and lives parttime in Florida, already received his first vaccine dose this past week. He did what my mother cannot: stand in line to get an appointment and drive himself back to the vaccination site several days later and receive his shot. How is it that Illinois and the federal government have ignored the most vulnerable: those who are frail, unable to help themselves, and most at risk of contracting COVID-19 because they live in communal settings?

I know that I am not alone in feeling this way. Every resident at the Northbrook Inn and at every long-term care facility in Illinois and America loves and is loved by someone else. It is our duty as Americans to ensure that the loved ones we are most at risk of losing are with us for as long as possible. The technology to save their lives has arrived. All I am asking is for our elected leaders to help get these vaccines through the front door of the building that houses those who mean so much to so many.