CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- For some it's like hitting the lottery: getting the coronavirus vaccine. At the latest mass-vaccination site to open, located at the Tinley Park Convention Center, the first of shots were administered Tuesday.
Beth Kazmierczak, of New Lenox, said she almost cried when she walked into the convention center, seeing table after table manned by medical professionals and members of the National Guard.
WBBM: Describe that feeling when you walked in.
"It was just surreal. We've lived in this crazy bubble as a family for the last year, to walk in a be like, wow I feel like we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel," she said.
She was among one of the first to get an appointment and get vaccinated at the mass vaccination site.
"When I walked in, I almost started crying, just because it has been such a long journey to the vaccine...It was awesome. I have a daughter with Downs syndrome. I qualified in 1A, because I am a caregiver for her, so I am just really excited to be able to be vaccinated for her and keep her safe," she said.
Another woman, Lakshmi Sevugan, qualified for the vaccine, due to her age.
WBBM: So you are getting the vaccine today. Are you excited about that?
"I am excited," she said, "and I hope people follow this and get vaccinated, so all of us could be safe."
Illinois' next phase of COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan: persons 65+, frontline essential workers
As more vaccine gets into the pipeline, they are expecting to vaccinate about 18,000 people a week at the Tinley Park Convention Center.
For now, appointments are limited to the number of available doses.
