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COVID Vaccines Not Getting To Everyone In The 1B Group; 'We Come To Work Every Day. We Are Exposed To The Elements'

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Where are we with the distribution of the COVID vaccine?

On Tuesday, CBS 2 reported on teachers getting the vaccine. CBS 2's Jim Williams reports not everyone in the second group, 1B, is getting the shots.

There had been concerns at the Pacific Garden Mission: When would they get the COVID vaccine? Would the homeless actually be a priority?

"You're dealing with a population that was vulnerable," said Pacific Garden Mission President Pastor Phil Kwiatkowski. "So when the rollout was slow, they're wondering, we're wondering, are we going to be last?"

The men and women they serve, and the Pacific Garden Mission workers, are in 1B. It's the second group to get the shots. Tuesday, a team from the Lawndale Medical Clinic vaccinated 150 people there.

"The response was absolutely amazing," Kwiatkowski said. "I was just touched by so many of the stories that I heard. One guy stopped me and said 'This place is amazing.'"

First responders are in 1B, too. The Chicago Police Department said its officers are now getting the shots, vaccinations facilitated by the department.

The Chicago Fire Department said 1,000 of its members have had at least the first shot. Five hundred workers have received the second dose. Department spokesperson Larry Langford added that mobile teams are crisscrossing the city, and will vaccinate other public safety workers as well.

But there's evidence of the vaccine's slow distribution. Keith Richardson, president of the union local that represents Chicago postal workers, said while his members have been able to make appointments for the vaccine, they have not yet received the shots.

"It concerns me to the standpoint because we're essential workers. We come to work everyday," Richardson said. "We are exposed to the elements like anyone else. Our workers should be at the front of the line as well as health care workers, like teachers, CPD. We all fall in that category."

CBS 2 called the postal service. A spokesperson said they're working with federal, state and local health officials to get the vaccine to those who sort and deliver the mail.

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