CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- When the call came out for healthcare professionals to administer COVID vaccines, Donna Plonczynski jumped at the opportunity.
“We want to get this behind us and there’s only one way to do that and that’s to get vaccinated," she said.
The Geneva resident came out of retirement to volunteer at several vaccination sites across the western suburbs; most recently the Kane Vax Hub in Batavia.
“We get an opportunity to do what we do. We teach, we provide comfort, we get shots in arms, it’s very fulfilling,” Plonczynski said.
President Joe Biden set a goal to administer 100 million coronavirus doses across the U.S. in his first 100 days in office, and Plonczynski hopes to reach a different goal in the same time frame.
“I’m trying to do 100 hours for our president’s first 100 days," she said.
Administering hundreds of vaccine doses a day, her motivation is simple.
“I want to hug my loved ones,” Plonczynski said. “I saw an old colleague that I haven’t seen for about 20 years and I automatically hugged her and the first thing I said was, ‘are you vaccinated?’”
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Plonczynski told WBBM Newsradio she’s also looking forward to spending time with family and friends as more and more people get vaccinated.
In his first primetime address, President Biden said he was optimistic small groups could meet for the 4th of July.
“As soon as our president said that, I said I’m doing it. I'm having a BBQ on the 4th of July," Plonczynski said.
The United States cleared 100 million doses last week, more than a month before President Biden’s target date.
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Mr. Biden promised to set a new goal for vaccinations this week, teasing the possibility of setting a 200 million dose goal by his 100th day in office.