Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

A bit of good news

Posted in:

Illinois

On Friday, a former big box store in Forest Park will be up and running as Cook County’s second largest mass vaccination site coordinated with effort with the Army National Guard.

“This location which will be able to administer up to 1,000 doses per day, at launch, and then over 2,000 soon after,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said it will be able to increase that to 5,000, depending on supply. The goal of the site is to vaccinate those most in need.

“If we are going to put an end to this pandemic and resume our regular lives, we need to prioritize the vaccine for those who are most at risk and marginalized from access to medical care,” said Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, Illinois House Speaker.

* Capitol News Illinois…

With 64 percent of the state’s seniors having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Illinois is nearing the “bridge” phase of reopening that will allow for greater capacity limits at businesses and social gatherings.

That number must hit 70 percent to enter the bridge phase, which would trigger another 28-day monitoring period. If virus transmission and hospitalization metrics don’t worsen during the monitoring period, Phase 5 can begin, removing all capacity restrictions.

The vaccination rate for seniors age 65 and older is up from 58 percent on Thursday, when Gov. JB Pritzker first announced the bridge phase. […]

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health website, 13.8 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated. Pritzker said “about one in three” Illinoisans age 16 and older had received at least one vaccine dose, a number that must reach 50 percent for the state to enter Phase 5 of reopening, which is essentially back to normal in terms of capacity restrictions.

* Paducah Sun…

Walk-ins are welcome this week at COVID-19 vaccine clinics organized by the Southern Seven Health Department in southern Illinois.

On Monday, Southern Seven held two vaccine clinics: one at Massac County Head Start in Metropolis and the other at Main Street Center in Anna. […]

“We have been appointment-only for COVID-19 vaccine clinics so far up to this point, and we’re getting to a point where we got a lot of vaccine supply coming into us,” [Nathan Ryder, contact tracing outreach coordinator for Southern Seven] said. “So we’ve seen those supplies increase on a weekly basis, and we’re beginning to get through all those waitlists that we had backed up for our seven counties. So now that we’ve exhausted our waitlist and now that we’re taking appointments, we also have some extra vaccine available for folks who just want to walk in on a daily basis.”

* SJ-R…

Sangamon County surpassed the 100,000 mark Monday for residents who have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, a county spokesman said.

That number meant 64.8% of residents 16 and older had received at least an initial dose and almost 52% of the county’s entire population had received a shot, spokesman Jeff Wilhite said.

He said both vaccination sites operated by the county have begun serving additional groups of people newly eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in Illinois. The eligibility expansion, which took effect Monday, affected higher education staff members, government workers and the news media.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 4:51 am

Comments

Good news all around, but we need more!

We have a lot of empty big box stores in the metro-Chicago area that can be repurposed along with every convention center that can’t be used until we get this pandemic under control.

Comment by Dee Lay Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 8:57 am
===Walk-ins are welcome this week at COVID-19 vaccine clinics organized by the Southern Seven Health Department in southern Illinois.===

This is a good indicator that they’ve responded to the criticism they’ve received in the media, but I do hope that their walk-in appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine are advertised locally by having someone stand outside waving a sign at people as they drive by, as is the custom for the region.

Comment by Candy Dogood Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 9:01 am
Not sure where the problem lies but it sure seems Will County is being ignored.

Comment by Because I Said So.... Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 9:13 am
It’s nice to hear that these counties are doing well in using the dosages made available to them.

But I have a hard time understanding why Sangamon Co. has received enough doses to vaccinate 64% of adults, while other counties have received far less.

This has been apparent for weeks (for instance, with Peoria vaccination levels I commented on here). That the differences aren’t primarily efficiency at the local level, but opportunity.

And given the differences in demographics, this disparity in distribution by county seems likely to be a major factor in racial disparities.

Has there been reporting on this that I’ve missed?

Comment by RWC Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 9:57 am
===sure seems Will County is being ignored.===

There’s no COVID problem in Will. Just ask the county board.

Comment by Cubs in '16 Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 10:33 am
Sangamon County is on pace with the state with 64% of adults 65+ being at least one shot into their vaccination.

Sangamon County certainly benefited from the mass vac site at the state fairgrounds. But that site was vaccinating people from all over Illinois. I think once Phase 1B+ opened up, the National Guard site was well used by the local population looking for a shot.

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 10:37 am
The supply situation, is still a mess, esp in suburban Cook Co, but the National Guard has done a fantastic job in moving the people in and out of the Tinley Park Convention Center. Hats off to our local heroes!

Comment by Ares Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 11:11 am
Sangamon County is misreporting the data. Look at the IDPH website, it’s 100,989 administered vaccine doses, not 100,989 people receiving their first doses.

Since 39,553 residents are fully vaccinated, that means about 61,436 people have received their first dose, which is 39.4% of adults.

Comment by Patrick Shaw Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 11:48 am
I can only hope that all people will take this seriously and get their shots as soon as possible- even if it takes a little effort on their part.

I am afraid too many will not take it seriously and that will only make the situation worse. We need ‘herd imminity’ as fast as possible.

Comment by Unconventionalwisdom Tuesday, Mar 23, 21 @ 4:44 pm