The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), recently announced 20 winners of the Promoting Pediatric Primary Prevention (P4) Challenge, a nationwide competition to increase pediatric vaccination rates and well-child visits.

Design Lab Director Scott Barrows says teams at OSF Jump Simulation and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are using machine learning algorithms to build artificial intelligence (AI) models to accurately identify geographic locations with the biggest need for childhood vaccinations and mobile clinics. The University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria (UICOMP) is supporting community outreach while Illinois State University’s School of Information Technology is building a vaccine management system that will help expand vaccination efforts for children in underserved communities.

“To be selected as one of the top 25 pediatric vaccination innovations in the U.S. is a testament to the commitment and collaboration of our Mission Partners working to improve community health,” said Barrows. 

OSF Innovation has also developed digital tools to systematically collect information during mobile clinics to help address social determinants of health – barriers outside of a medical office that affect access to care and vaccinations including food, transportation, and income among others.

Barrows says the additional funding will help provide refrigerators for vans supporting mobile clinics, helping boost the number of vaccinations that can be given. Additionally, the new federal funding can supplement support for a vaccine coordinator position based at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois

After a brief reprieve in the summer, followed by a delta variant COVID-19 surge that lessened mid-fall, now Omicron threatens to further test the limits of health care workers at OSF HealthCare and at health systems across the country. In Illinois, Omicron infections are doubling every two or three days and in Michigan where OSF HealthCare operates a hospital and medical clinic, they are preparing for a storm of infections.

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people without a vaccine are 10 times more likely to get COVID-19 and 20 times more like to die from it. Those are scary statistics given the fact only 61.6% of the U.S. population is vaccinated and people are traveling to visit family for the holidays.

What’s different from a year ago? There are fewer providers to care for sick and hospitalized patients. The continuing surges of high patient volumes in the past 12 months has led to 1 in 5 medical professionals leaving their field for other careers or retiring early. 

Dr. Sam Sears, director of Behavioral Health Physician Services for OSF HealthCare says the stress of making difficult daily decisions, coupled with longer hours and concerns about personal health, have made for challenges beyond what many envisioned when they chose their career.

“Being asked to legitimately put their own health and safety and those of their loved ones on the line every day to try and help others out, that is ultimately as health care providers what we signed up to do. But I don’t know that most individuals had really ever dealt with the impact directly and personally in the same manner as they’re having to see it every single day,” he observed.

Dr. Sears says burnout was a problem before the pandemic and the unrealized promise of returning to some sort of normalcy has made feelings of exhaustion and frustration worse, especially when a good percentage of the population refuses to get vaccinated and boosted.

According to Dr. Sears, “Burnout is really more trauma, clinical depression and anxiety features than just pure fatigue and being run down and difficulty motivating one’s self, into realms that it really does approach ‘we need to have this person clinically addressed to help this person recover their resiliency and their ability to function.’”

Even though small gatherings of fully vaccinated people are ok, Dr. Sears says he’s concerned pandemic fatigue will result in people not wearing a mask or keep six feet apart during last-minute shopping or in other larger public events such as Christmas concerts and church services.

Sears points out, it can be excruciatingly hard on health care workers who feel like every day nobody's listening, nobody's following the rules, nothing's changed and the numbers are going in the wrong direction.

“Our health care workers are not robots. These are real human beings dealing with their own emotional stresses and struggles that you’re compounding with the emotional stress and struggles of what they’re doing day in, day out – making many, many life and death decisions for individuals and that becomes very challenging and stressful,” he points out.

Dr. Sears admits some health care workers see taking care of themselves and getting behavioral health support as just one more thing they don’t have time to do. However, he tells those care providers, it’s part of their job to make sure they are physically and mentally fit.

“It really is an ethical directive at the end of the day for people to take of themselves when they are caring for others because, otherwise, they’re not going to be able to sustain that; keep that up to sustain the level of care that others need.”

Providing Support for Health Care Workers

OSF Silver Cloud is a free, online behavioral tool available 24/7 for community members but there is a special section tailored specifically for health care workers. For the public, the website and app offers a COVID-19-specific module. It is also backed by a behavioral health navigator who can help direct people who need in-person care. But, Sears says the pandemic has highlighted for the public, flaws in the mental health infrastructure across the country, especially for health care workers themselves.

“As both a health care system and as the greater United States, we’re really going to have to think about how do we really meet these needs across the country and locally to help the people who have been helping us get through all of this?”

Dr. Sears suggests gestures of kindness from the community and even ‘thank you’ cards go a long way in providing emotional support for health care workers.

Additionally, the vaccines and booster shots offer the only hope of an endpoint to the pandemic. In the meantime, Dr. Sears says people need to be an emotional support for those they know, and even those who are not within their tightest circle such as extended family or older relatives living alone or in nursing homes.

“Everyone’s going to be conscripted into kind of being some level of behavioral health support for people because there’s not enough therapists, psychiatrists, APNs, primary care doctors to go around for the need that’s really going to be there, so we’ll lean on each other as we just march through and keep as many people going as we can,” Dr. Sears explained.

Some communities are adding mental health 4-1-1 classes to help residents understand and move past the stigma connected with mental health issues, along with educating people to recognize symptoms of someone in mental distress, how to talk with them, and to suggest resources.

An OSF Behavioral Health navigator can be reached at during business hours at (833) 713-7100. For 24/7 support, calling 2-1-1 can also provide direct help for a variety of needs, including mental health crisis support. Immediate help is also available through the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Video Dr. Sam Sears, director of Behavioral Health Physician Services

Health Care Worker Distress B-roll

COVID-19 has become the most deadly pandemic in American history, with deaths at more than 650,000, surpassing the estimated deaths from the 1918 Spanish flu. But a lead infectious disease doctor for Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare says over the course of the pandemic, medical providers have found ways to save lives with improved and more standardized care.

Doug Kasper, M.D., a leader in the OSF HealthCare response to COVID-19, says unlike the early days in the pandemic, all providers now know the best protocols for treatment and how to make sure those infected are getting the proper care.

He says medical providers have progressed to a systematic understanding of the best way to treat COVID-19 that includes intervening earlier, before the virus can continue to replicate within the body.

“We’re better at lab-based monitoring to assess ongoing infection and damage, and we’re better at recognizing those individuals that require hospitalizations for specialized care. That has come a tremendously long way since earlier on in the pandemic, where it was more of a case-by-case basis. We’ve now progressed to having a systemic understanding of COVID-19 treatment.”

One improvement has been the early use of monoclonal antibodies for people who are at high risk of serious complications. The drugs are designed to mimic the body’s natural immune response by targeting certain coronavirus proteins and preventing them from entering cells. OSF switched from using a single monoclonal antibody to a more effective cocktail, based on evolving research. Dr. Kasper says the infusions are a preventive measure.

“We give it outside of the hospital to prevent admission to the hospital. It can be used in individuals who are vaccinated or unvaccinated. It is being used across the country widely at this time.”

Convalescent plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients was used early on but Dr. Kasper says it is no longer a preferred therapy, based on research from a large clinical trial in which OSF HealthCare participated.

“Clinical trial data did not support its effective use and the emergence of monoclonal antibody and vaccination replaced it as much more successful strategies for COVID-19 infection.”

Other COVID-19 therapies include the steroid Dexamethasone and anti-inflammatory drug Baricitinib, along with oxygen therapy and anticoagulants such as Lovenox to prevent blood clots. 

Remdesivir is the only approved anti-viral drug to treat COVID-19. Dr. Kasper says it’s been used narrowly, early in the infection, for a specific group of hospitalized patients. Research about the drug and its potential uses will continue to be reviewed. For example, newly released results of an international study of 536 patients suggests Remdesivir cut high-risk COVID-19 hospitalizations by 87% when given over three days to patients within a week of experiencing symptoms.

Proning proves a powerful intervention

OSF HealthCare found increasing evidence supporting the effectiveness of proning – putting individuals with COVID-19 on their stomachs as a way to increase the amount of oxygen to the lungs. The approach has been used previously on patients with other lung and heart conditions and now it is being used, in many cases, to keep patients off of a ventilator.

“The idea is that proning is not harmful to the individual in any way and is potentially helpful for oxygenation reasons,” says Dr. Kasper.

Similarly, COVID-19 patients in the hospital are usually given a cocktail of vitamins which includes thiamine, vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc and melatonin. Dr. Kasper says there are no long-term studies to support the approach, but vitamin supplements are given in doses that won’t be harmful and could help patients whose nutrient deficiencies can increase their susceptibility to infection.

Dr. Kasper says the delta variant has made it more difficult to predict outcomes for patients who are admitted to the hospital. That’s particularly true for unvaccinated individuals because there are two phases of infection. During the first phase, usually a week to 10 days, the virus is replicating before the immune system has a chance to respond. The second phase, Dr. Kasper explains, involves the immune system response. Sometimes the response is so extreme, it increases disease severity and risk of death, so tempering the body’s inflammatory response is an important component of COVID-19 management.

The individual’s own immune response while trying to clear the infection can lead to tissue damage.

This is where we start to see people that have trouble with respiratory symptoms. The ongoing cycle of infection and inflammation in the lungs leads to viral pneumonia, which in some individuals can be quite severe, leading to respiratory failure.”

Dr. Kasper says it appears antibody response can have an impact on other body functions that can lead to some of the long COVID symptoms such as fatigue, mental fog or reduced endurance. He says there are longer-range studies underway that will follow patients four to five years. OSF HealthCare plans to collaborate with others to put together a patient registry while consulting with specialists to handle the most serious issues facing people with long COVID.

The pandemic has also led to the expansion of support for nursing facilities and group homes, and expanding at-home monitoring and care.

“There are whole new types of care, a lot of which has been developed around telemedicine, e-Medicine, that are trying to provide outreach to all impacts of the pandemic, not only in Peoria, not only in our bigger cities, but into our rural patient populations as well.”

No matter how far treatment has come since the start of the pandemic, Dr. Kasper says the best approach moving forward is the prevention that comes with being fully vaccinated against the virus.

Video Clips with Dr. Doug Kasper, infectious disease physician, leader of OSF HealthCare COVID-19 response

COVID-19 Treatment B-roll

As the delta variant becomes more common, now making up 99% of cases in the U.S., OSF HealthCare frontline doctors are seeing more and more cases of pregnant women admitted to the hospital because they’re infected with the virus. At some hospitals in the Southeast, there are entire intensive care units full of pregnant women on ventilators, and the fear is that could happen in the Midwest.

Dr. Michael Leonardi, MD, an-OBGYN and maternal-fetal medicine specialist at OSF HealthCare, says the number of fully vaccinated pregnant women who are being cared for within the 15-hospital health system is “alarmingly low.”

The latest published data shows approximately 25% of pregnant women nationwide are partially or fully vaccinated. OSF HealthCare leaders say pregnant women in the care of its physicians are at or slightly below that vaccination rate.

Dr. Leonardi fears low vaccination rates combined with not enough people sticking to mitigation factors, such as social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands, could cause increasing numbers of pregnant women in states such as Illinois and Michigan to be hospitalized, repeating what hospitals and women in the Southeast are facing.

“I am scared to death we are going to start losing pregnant women from COVID.”

The Chicago Tribune reports that at one point last week, only one ICU bed was available across all 22 hospitals in southern Illinois — a region with more than 400,000 residents, according to the 2020 U.S. census.

Leonardi is worried about what he’s starting to see in OSF HealthCare hospitals.

“We’ve had several pregnant women in our ICUs, we’ve had several pregnant women on ventilators because of COVID, and pregnant women having to be delivered prematurely because of COVID – more than one. Last weekend, when I was on call and rounding, one-third of labor and delivery beds were taken up by women with COVID who had no reason other than COVID to be in the hospital.”

Dr. Leonardi stresses the long-term negative consequences of having COVID on a pregnant woman and her fetus is far greater than any negative side effect from the vaccine. He says that’s because pregnancy puts women at high risk for complications from the virus.

Pregnant women who get infected with COVID are three or four times more likely to end up in an intensive care unit, several times more likely to end up on a ventilator, and a couple times more likely to die than the exact same person who is not pregnant.”

Pregnant women who have underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes, obesity or high blood pressure, also might be at even higher risk of severe illness due to COVID-19. Newly released research shows even women who get COVID-19 but don’t have serious symptoms are at high risk for a serious condition called preeclampsia in which high blood pressure can force early delivery.

The most common reasons cited by women who aren’t vaccinated include concerns about safety due to rapid development and long-term effects. More than 5 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally with few, rare, serious side effects. The Immunization Action Coalition says, currently, the United States has the safest, most effective vaccine supply in history with ongoing safety data collection. The Coalition highlights that any side effects of today’s modern-era vaccines occurred within six weeks of being administered but with no lasting negative impacts.

As women do the cost-benefit analysis to make what he acknowledges is a difficult but important decision, Dr. Leonardi wants them to know there is no evidence or even biologically plausible reason to be concerned about any impact on fertility or increased risk for birth defects or miscarriage from the COVID-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, he urges pregnant women to consider evidence that being pregnant and getting COVID-19 can have dire long-term effects.

“Even though it’s scary (to get vaccinated against the virus), the thought of a pregnant lady dying from COVID or the thought of a pregnant lady having to be delivered months early and then her child having complications for its whole life – that’s scarier to me.”

Babies may not yet be eligible for the COVID vaccine, but a recent study suggests if their mother gets vaccinated, they can glean immunity either in the womb or through breastmilk.

“The mom who has been vaccinated against COVID has antibodies against COVID in her breast milk that help protect her baby from getting COVID in the community.”

Lastly, Dr. Leonardi stresses that it can take between five to six weeks to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and if women wait to see if cases continue to climb in their community, it could be too late to become fully protected against a highly contagious and potentially life-threatening virus.

Video Clips with Dr. Michael Leonardi, MD, an-OBGYN and maternal-fetal medicine specialist at OSF HealthCare

The nation’s leading infectious disease doctor and White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci urges physicians to make more use of monoclonal antibodies for treatment of COVID-19 at a time when OSF HealthCare has been leading in their use.

Mark Meeker, DO, FACP, CPE, vice president of community medicine, OSF Multispecialty Group, says OSF HealthCare was among the first health systems to implement special clinics to help infuse patients who qualified for monoclonal antibody treatment.

Because clinical leaders constantly review data on the latest treatments, Dr. Meeker says OSF HealthCare pivoted to a new and improved version from the initial regimen of Bamlanivimab. 

“When that data became apparent, we stopped infusing BAM as we called it at the time, and we switched to REGEN-COV. REGEN-COV is effective against the variants, and it’s still available and we’re still using it for specific people who get symptomatic COVID,” says Dr. Meeker.

REGEN-COV is authorized for treatment of people over age 12.

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, clinical trials have demonstrated that early treatment with monoclonal antibodies can reduce the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death by 70 to 85%. The laboratory-made antibody mimics a naturally occurring one, which is known to fight off the virus that causes COVID-19.

In a news conference, Dr. Fauci stressed Regeneron’s REGEN-COV antibody cocktail is also authorized for use in preventing infection in people exposed to the virus and who are at risk including people who are obese, pregnant have chronic conditions or are age 65 or older. The FDA recently expanded authorization to preventatively use monoclonal antibodies based on the results of a large clinical trial that found the antibodies prevented symptoms in household contacts of people who recently tested positive. 

Dr. Meeker recognizes there is a preventative benefit and says OSF HealthCare is looking at wider use.

“If someone is at high risk of getting bad COVID and they know they have an exposure because the person they had contact with has tested positive and is sick, then we can give monoclonal antibodies to the exposed person to prevent illness. Instead of waiting for them to get sick and catch up, we can give it in a preventative fashion so that they have less risk of getting sick.”

Monoclonal antibodies are especially useful for people with weakened immune systems who may not generate a robust response to the COVID-19 vaccines, and for others at high risk of severe illness. Monoclonal antibodies can start to clear the coronavirus within hours of being infused intravenously (IV) into the body. But, Dr. Meeker points out monoclonal antibodies are not a substitute for becoming fully vaccinated against COVID-19 because he says that’s the best prevention against severe illness and hospitalization from the virus.

For those who question the changing guidance, Dr. Meeker says the novel virus has accelerated medical response out of necessity, and so as new data comes in and the virus changes, so will the approaches to containing and treating the disease.

“We’re changing as rapidly as we can to try to keep up with the knowledge that’s being gained from across the world, not just the country. It’s a moving target. It’s a fascinating time and I would just encourage you, if you have any questions, talk with your physician or your APP (advanced practice provider).”

The National Institutes of Health offers the full list of conditions that might qualify for use of monoclonal antibodies. OSF MyChart is also the easiest way to contact your medical provider to see if you should consider treatment.

Video clips with Dr. Mark Meeker, vice president of community health, OSF Multispecialty Group

B-roll-Monoclonal antibody infusion

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved allowing a third, supplemental dose of two COVID-19 vaccines for certain immunocompromised individuals who need extra protection. The supplemental vaccines are currently approved for Pfizer (ages 12-over) or Moderna vaccines (ages 18-over). Health agencies are also studying the safety of supplemental doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

Several recent studies have shown that a third mRNA vaccine dose is safe to administer to solid-organ transplant recipients and can increase antibodies in some patients who responded poorly to the first two doses of the mRNA vaccines, leaving them more at risk despite being fully vaccinated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates the expanded emergency use authorization will impact about 3% of the U.S. population.

Mark Meeker, DO, FACP, CPE, vice president of community medicine, OSF HealthCare Multispecialty Group, says the expanded emergency use authorization (EAU) includes patients who have suppressed immune systems because of cancer treatment or because they underwent an organ transplant.

“They’re very specific with this booster because data is still coming in. There have been studies done at university centers, studying people with solid tumors, for example, people with transplants, and they have found that the third shot really does enhance their response to the vaccine.”

The FDA announcement comes as the highly contagious delta variant is represented in an increasing number of cases. The variant now represents about 87% of all new cases in the U.S. – up from 14% in early June, according to the CDC.

Here are the specific categories of patients who should contact their treating medical provider about getting a supplemental vaccine dose:

• Receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood
• Received an organ transplant and taking medicine to suppress the immune system
• Received a stem cell transplant within the last two years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
• Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has also advised that when possible, the suppplemental dose should match the type/brand of initial doses received. Dr. Meeker says the CDC has guidance for those patients.

“Right now, based on the data we have available, the CDC is recommending that you continue the series with the first vaccine that you had received. If, however, you have trouble accessing that particular brand of vaccine – you cannot access it or there’s a supply issue – then they recommend you get the other one rather than nothing at all. The third booster needs to be at least, for both of them, 28 days after that second shot.”

 ACIP recommended the supplemental vaccine doses, but for only the very limited group. Dr. Meeker says this does not apply to people with some chronic conditions such as diabetes. He says this initial group of patients is one for which there is the most robust data.

“We knew by the nature of their illness, or their situation, that they may not have responded adequately to the first two doses. So that was studied early on and we now have the data in that shows that is indeed the case – a lot of those patients didn’t respond well enough to the first two doses, and the third shot indeed makes a significant difference in a lot of them.”

ACIP has called for more data to address the need for booster shots for other populations, including residents of long-term care facilities, adults ages 65 and older and health care providers.

Dr. Meeker points out that the supplemental vaccine doses will be available for these immunocompromised individuals through local OSF HealthCare providers, but if patients want to receive them at retail pharmacies or county public health clinics, they won’t need a medical referral. But he thinks it’s a good idea to check with your medical provider.

“I would highly recommend you give them a call, send them an email – however you communicate with your care team – and ask them for advice about this booster. At OSF, we have the vaccine available through all of our clinics so if you have an OSF physician for APP (advanced practice provider), you’ll have access to the booster if you qualify.”

OSF is also currently offering COVID-19 vaccinations on a walk-in basis with no appointment needed at select OSF Medical Group and OSF PromptCare locations.

Video clips for Dr. Mark Meeker, vice president for community health service line physicians

The American Academy of Pediatricians says COVID-19 cases among children and teens jumped 84% in one week’s time with more than 72,000 kids acquiring the disease between July 22 and July 29. That’s alarming pediatricians and medical providers including Dana DeShon, an APN for OSF HealthCare who specializes in Pediatrics.

DeShon’s office and others across the Peoria, Illinois based OSF HealthCare Ministry are now vaccinating children 12 and older against the COVID-19 virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently advised that the vaccine can be given at the same time children and adults receive other vaccinations. 

The Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for use in children 12 and over, and it requires two doses. DeShon recommends getting pre-teens and teens vaccinated now so children can be fully vaccinated in time for the new school year.

“Now is the time we should be getting that vaccination to make sure that those kids that are 12 and older are protecting not only themselves and their family and those who they are around, but also their peers and younger kids who have not been able to get that vaccination because they’re not eligible or old enough to get that.”

Research indicates the delta variant is associated with an estimated 60% higher risk of household transmission than the alpha variant, which was already much more transmissible than the original version of the virus. There are also suggestions the delta variant could carry a much higher risk of hospital admission in unvaccinated individuals.

DeShon says children can get very sick or suffer long-term complications, particularly if they acquire multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) – a serious condition related to COVID-19 in which different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs. In the United States, nearly 4,200 children have been diagnosed with it.

DeShon also points out more than 400 children have died from COVID-19. She says as a medical provider, it’s frustrating to learn about those deaths because kids are dying from a preventable disease.

“It is definitely not as high of a percentage as what we would see in the older population, but I still think 400 is way too much more than we would see. It’s double the amount we would see in an influenza season.”

DeShon says if your child has had COVID-19 and plans on playing sports, they need a medical clearance due to concerns the virus may have damaged the child’s lungs and heart.

Falling Behind on Other Childhood Vaccinations

As an ambassador for a United Nations Foundation campaign called Shot@Life, DeShon and others lobby Congress to fund vaccine support for children in low-income countries. She’s concerned about children missing all necessary vaccines because the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many parents to avoid wellness check-ups which also include vaccinations.

Parents are skipping vaccinations that should be given according to a schedule recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). DeShon says globally, the number of missed vaccinations is staggering.

“Statistically, I think we’re still about 23 million doses behind for missing those vaccinations. We haven’t seen anything lag like this since about 2009, so it’s been a long time since we’ve seen any problems with this. And it’s not just a United States problem, it’s a worldwide problem.”

There are 14 diseases that can be prevented through childhood immunizations.

“Those prevent about a million deaths in children per year. It also helps to prevent hospitalizations. Up to 8 million hospitalizations are prevented when we get those vaccinations.”

DeShon says more than 400 million illnesses are also prevented by giving those childhood vaccinations. The impact of not vaccinating children has been seen with outbreaks in areas with low vaccination rates. For example, two years ago there were measles outbreaks in areas of the U.S. with resistance to vaccinations against the highly contagious disease.

Diseases that have been mostly eradicated, such as polio and meningitis, could return, DeShon says.

“That’s always the concern – that if we are not catching up those kids in those areas that we should get those levels of vaccination rates, that we will definitely see surges of those diseases that have been far off for a long time, now coming back.”

DeShon is also concerned delayed wellness visits could allow parents to miss developmental delays or medical problems that require intervention. 

She also advises, if you have concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine or any other immunizations, do your research and then speak with your child’s pediatrician or primary care provider. 

Video clips with Dana DeShon, APN at OSF HealthCare

B-roll Childhood vaccinations

OSF Innovation and its partners at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria (UICOMP) and Illinois State University (ISU) in Normal, Illinois, have received a federal Human Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) grant of $10,000 to continue work to expand childhood vaccinations to children of low-income families in Central Illinois. 

Recent CDC data shows fewer children were vaccinated on time this year compared to last year, in part, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. HRSA invited grant applicants to propose and implement innovative approaches to increase access to and utilization of well-child visits and immunization services.

OSF is already part of the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program providing free vaccines to children whose families meet income guidelines. This new grant will fund vaccinations for children in families that might not qualify under those low-income guidelines. In addition, OSF will use the funding to purchase refrigerators for the mobile OSF Care-A-Van to store vaccines when going out into the community. A small portion of the grant will also support vaccine education in communities.

“The HRSA award is a competitive, multi-stage grant, and we will be working toward a second round of funding in the fall,” said OSF Design Lab Director Scott Barrows. “Our vision is to possibly expand the program throughout the state and refine efforts from what we have learned and data collected.”

The Innovation Labs are creating scalable solutions that can improve access and quality of care for Medicaid patients throughout the state. OSF OnCall Digital Health enables community health workers to use well-designed tools that leverage analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence for outreach to underserved populations. OSF Innovation has engaged in targeted partnerships to develop the pipeline for diverse, future health care workers through its STEAM and Pre-Surgical Immersion offerings via Jump Simulation.

Through the mobile vaccination effort, OSF Innovation is tapping resources in its Data Science and Advanced Informatics Lab, Children’s Innovation Lab and its Design Lab to use advanced AI-informed technology to fuel mobile outreach. Pediatric nurses and doctors, along with community partners, will use the OSF Care-A-Van to expand vaccinations for children in underserved areas.

Barrows says the OSF Design Lab has again partnered with Dr. Adam Cross of UICOMP who is also clinical informaticist for the OSF Innovation Children’s Lab, Dr. Mary Stapel, director of OSF Community Care Clinics, and Population Health Manager Elise Albers of OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois, as well as with Dr. Shaoen Wu of ISU. The project aligns with the current Illinois Innovation Network (IIN). ISU research grant and current Jump ARCHES grant research. The grants are receiving additional research support from interns at the U of I, ISU, University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and Bradley University.

Dr. Stapel will be working with community members and developing partnerships, particularly with schools that have a large percentage of low-income families. As summer approaches, community outreach will accelerate to meet families where they are.

Many people who are COVID weary and fully vaccinated might be a little disappointed by the latest guidelines from the federal government but one OSF HealthCare leader supports the cautious approach.

Stephen Hippler, M.D. is the chief clinical officer for Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare. He says more research is needed to see if vaccinated people can still become infected - yet not experience symptoms - and possibly spread the virus to others who have not been vaccinated. Until then, he applauds the latest updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which allows fully vaccinated people to gather indoors without masks or physical distancing with people who are also fully vaccinated. They can also be inside, unmasked, with people from the same household who are at low risk of serious illness from the virus.

“Much is still unknown that now, being smart and being safe is probably the right approach. Even those of us who are fully vaccinated need to look out for others. Again, it’s about protecting others and our community in addition to protecting ourselves.”

People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they have gotten their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after receiving the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine. 

The CDC warns that everyone — even those who are vaccinated — should continue to follow recommended guidelines in public settings, including wearing masks. Dr. Hippler points out that according to the CDC vaccine tracker, to date only 18.4% of the population has received one dose and only 9.7% has received both doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. He agrees with the CDC that “we’re just not there yet” to loosen restrictions any more.

“Moderate to large-size gatherings, at the gym, other large social venues, the guidelines still apply to wear the mask and physically distance so we’re not spreading it to other people who have not had the opportunity to be vaccinated yet.”

According to the CDC, even in a small gathering, if there are unvaccinated people who come from multiple households, there is a higher risk of virus transmission among them. Therefore, everyone should take precautions including wearing a well-fitted mask, staying at least 6 feet away from others, and visiting outdoors or in a well-ventilated space.

The guidance still suggests fully vaccinated people get tested and quarantine after a known exposure to someone with COVID-19 only if they have symptoms. 

The CDC still recommends against unnecessary travel - a guideline that is sure to upset some who are fully vaccinated and aching to travel to see loved ones or who feel they need a vacation. Dr. Hippler says each individual has to determine for themselves what is necessary for their own mental health and wellbeing. 

The agency does not give specific guidance for nursing homes. Dr. Hippler says some are allowing in-person visits but with ongoing mitigation measures to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. He suggests checking with your loved one’s facility.

There is no change in recommendations for those who have already had COVID-19 but aren’t fully vaccinated. Some immunologists argue that people who’ve recovered should only need one dose of a vaccine. But, according to Dr. Hippler, the research isn’t available to prove that’s appropriate.

“I don’t think we ought to be deviating from that (every eligible adult being fully vaccinated) until we have hard, firm data to suggest it’s equally safe. Otherwise, it’s just a hypothesis.”

The CDC guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated are interim and Dr. Hippler says they’ll continue to evolve as more people are immunized against the virus and its variants, or until more research becomes available to suggest changes. Until then, he says, those who have a high level of protection through vaccination have an obligation to keep others safe as well.

Video Clips with Dr. Stephen Hippler, chief clinical officer OSF HealthCare

Guidelines for Fully Vaccinated B-roll