Hundreds Of Vaccines Reserved For Highland Park Restaurant Staff

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Hundreds of doses of COVID-19 vaccine at a regional mass vaccination site set to open next week at a Deerfield senior center will be reserved for Highland Park restaurant workers, city officials said.

The new site at the Patty Turner Center, 375 Elm St., has the capacity to deliver up to 1,000 jabs a day, according to a joint announcement from the park district and village manager's office in Deerfield.

The first doses are set to be administered Wednesday and reserved for Deerfield residents, it said. Emails started going out Thursday to members of vaccine priority groups preregistered in Lake County's AllVax online portal.

Plans for the site include targeted point of dispensing, or POD, events for high-priority populations.

One of these prioritized population is food service workers, including employees of full-service, counter-service and carryout eateries and kitchens.

Workers in the industry have been considered essential since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — but they were not included among the "front-line essential worker" priority group. They were made eligible for vaccines for the first time by J.B. Pritzker's administration on Monday.

About 700 Highland Park restaurant workers and 300 who work in Deerfield are expected to be vaccinated in a local food service POD, according to a city spokesperson. City staff this week started working with restaurant owners and landlords to help interested workers arrange for vaccine appointments.

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said city officials appreciated the chance to coordinate with Deerfield on the effort.

“Food service workers have been on the front line, serving our communities throughout the pandemic and have helped to provide a sense of normalcy, convenience, and comfort for so many," Rotering said in a statement.

"Restaurant owners have had to bear the economic challenges of serving the public while weighing the potential health risks to employees," she added. "Creating an opportunity for these workers to get vaccinated will help to protect their health while also giving the public confidence to return to their favorite local restaurants.”

The Deerfield Bannockburn Riverwoods Chamber of Commerce is also involved in coordinating the food service POD, according to village officials.

Future targeted PODs at the new regional site may include residents of senior living facilities, essential manufacturing employees and other essential workers, especially in southeast Lake County, according to Deerfield officials.

Email invitations to the targeted PODs will be sent each week to specific groups so they do not have to compete with the general population once the state enters Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination plan.

Pritzker last month directed health departments that are allocated doses through the Illinois Department of Public Health, which includes Lake County, to expand eligibility to everyone aged 16 and up starting April 12, and county officials plan to do so.

The Deerfield Park District partnered with Village Hall, Chicago-based Doctors Test Center and the Lake County Health Department to set up the site in its senior center.

Any additional details received in response to inquires to village and county representatives regarding the type of vaccine that will be used at the site, or any plans for future vaccination dates reserved for residents of other southeast Lake County communities, will be added here.

EARLIER: Regional Vaccination Site Opening Soon In Deerfield

In Highwood, the public library has partnered with Walgreens, Rosalind Franklin University and the Family Health Center for clinics in the community, whose essential workers and multi-generational households have been especially hard hit by the COVID-19.

Meet our amazing Community Health Workers! This dedicated team has worked tirelessly over the last two weeks to facilitate the delivery of over 600 vaccines throughout our community. Many thanks to @RepBobMorgan and Walgreens for making this all possible! #GetVaccinated pic.twitter.com/f7SeiMv4i5
— Highwood Public Library (@highwoodlibrary) March 27, 2021