Memorial Health System expects to get 'significantly higher' vaccine amounts in second week of shipments

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Memorial Health System said it expects to receive a "significantly higher" number of vaccines in the second week of shipments.

A spokesperson said MHS has taken in its allocations of COVID-19 vaccines from the five health departments where its hospitals are located. This includes Sangamon County (Memorial Medical Center), Logan County (Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital), Christian County (Taylorville Memorial Hospital), Morgan County (Passavant Area Hospital), and Macon County (Decatur Memorial Hospital).

While a higher number of doses is expected, MHS said it will not know final totals until delivery during the week of Dec. 21.

The system expects allocations of the newly-approved Moderna vaccine at several unspecified locations during the week of Christmas.

Memorial is using a tiered approach when figuring out who should be vaccinated first. The spokesperson said this method is based on requirements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Illinois Department of Public Health and county public health departments.

MHS colleagues are encouraged to get vaccinated, but are not required to.

From Dec. 16-18, MHS said 1,659 employees at four locations took the first of two Pfizer vaccine doses.