Rockford police chief hesitated to get vaccinated, ‘then COVID took me down’

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Police Chief Carla Redd was initially hesitant to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

She said she wanted to educate herself before she got the shot. Then, in May, about five months after health care workers in Rockford received the first doses of the vaccine, she decided she was ready.

“I had done all my research I felt I needed to do and I was going to go get vaccinated,” Redd said during a news conference Monday. “COVID took me down before then.”

Related: Winnebago County Board chairman was paralyzed during battle with COVID

Redd, who became the city’s 13th police chief on Aug. 31, missed three weeks of work recovering from the illness. At times, she said, she worried she wouldn’t recover at all.

“I wondered what life was going to be like for my kids without their mom because that’s how sick I was,” she said. “There were days I could barely even get out of bed.”

Redd, along with Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli, shared her experience recovering from the coronavirus as a means to encourage people to get vaccinated. Chiarelli, who was paralyzed during his battle with COVID in November, added a call for doctors to make sure patients are aware of treatment options such as monoclonal antibodies.

About 55% of Winnebago County residents have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to the Winnebago County Health Department. Redd said she and her family are now fully vaccinated and approaching the time period to receive booster shots.

“I regret I didn’t get vaccinated sooner,” she said. “If you don’t get vaccinated for yourself, think about your loved ones. Think about your mother. Think about your grandmother.”

Winnebago County reported an additional 623 cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, and UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital told multiple news outlets that it was out of intensive care unit beds as the latest surge wreaks havoc on health care systems.

“I can’t say thank you enough to the medical staff that’s out there day in and day out providing care,” Redd said. “My sister is in the medical field, I have other family members that are in the medical field, and I see the effects and the stress that wears on them as well.”

Across the state, hospitalizations from the coronavirus are at an all time high with 7,353 patients with coronavirus in Illinois hospitals, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The nationwide seven-day average of hospitalizations also hit a record high on Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal’s analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data.

“When I was down sick, I lost a complete week,” Redd said. “Luckily I had family there and friends that were supporting me during this ordeal because I’ll tell you there were times where I thought I was going to give up. I could literally see myself not being here.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.