CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’s working to build public trust in the COVID vaccine, as the first doses make their way to Chicago.
The Mayor spoke on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday morning, saying while black and LatinX residents make up a disproportionate number of the city’s COVID deaths, they will be well represented among those to get inoculated first.
"Obviously our frontline healthcare workers are going to get it. They are very diverse. Our essential workers will be next int he queue. They are extraordinarily diverse and really lean towards people of color. So there will be an equity lense as it applies to distribution of the vaccine here in Chicago," she said.
She said her administration is putting together a panel of scientific advisors to verify and validate the vaccine process in the face of widespread skepticism about its safety, as well as going door to door educate residents in hard-hit neighborhoods.
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Lightfoot is also recruiting local leaders to be among the first to get vaccinated.
"We have to get local, trusted leaders who are going to validate why it's important to take the vaccine. I can talk all I want, but people need to trust their neighbors and stakeholders in the community," she said.
The city expects to receive its first round of 23,000 doses in a couple of weeks.