Chicago Chinatown COVID vaccine clinic vaccinates hundreds of residents

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Hundreds of people in Chinatown received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday.

"Everyone would love to have COVID vaccines available just on their block, but it's really important for immigrant communities because of the language and especially the older people, technology," said David Wu, the Pui Tak Center executive director.

The Pui Tak Center hosted the vaccination clinic targeting Chinatown residents. Chicago expanded eligibility for the vaccine Monday.

Wu said a lot of the people vaccinated were Chinatown restaurant workers.

"As things open up, people are nervous about their own health," he said.

State Representative Theresa Mah helped organize the clinic. Her district includes Chinatown.

"They're a community that's been overlooked especially in the city's metrics for which communities get priority for vaccinations and the number of vaccinations," the democratic lawmaker said.

Mah said many residents aren't likely to venture outside the community for the vaccine.

"It's a community that is not likely to go the United Center or any place outside of the neighborhood because they're not familiar. They don't know if anybody is going to speak their language," she said.

The Pui Tak Center has hosted several other vaccination clinics. Wu said their goal is to make sure all eligible residents in Chinatown have access to the vaccine.