Will County Nearing Completion Of Phase 1A Vaccinations

WILL COUNTY, IL — More than 9,100 people in Will County were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Wednesday, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. That represents about 1.33 percent of the county's total population.

Will County officials said in a release Thursday that they are working to expedite the vaccination process in a safe, efficient manner.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and our strategies to combat it are evolving quickly, almost daily,” County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant said in a release. “We understand people are ready and anxious to receive the vaccine and we want to assure everyone we are working very diligently to develop sound processes to get the vaccine out quickly and safely.”

“The job we are undertaking is unprecedented, and we are trying to do it as fast as we can,” Sue Olenek, executive director of the health department, said in a release. “We have over 100,000 residents who have given us their information on our online sign-up form, and yet there are so many more who want to receive the vaccine, which is wonderful.

33,518 total doses were administered in the county by Wednesday, according to statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The speed of administering vaccines has increased over the past week in Will County, the state's data shows. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered sat at about 1,114 people Wednesday, up from 727 a week prior.

“We have the volunteers, and we have the sites for future clinics as we head into 1B, and we have already administered over 31,400 doses as we prepare to finish 1A. We have only begun the vaccination era, so we ask everyone to be patient. There is nothing we want more than vaccination shots into the arms of all those who desire it," Olenek said in a release.

Will County ranked fourth in terms of doses administered, trailing Chicago, and Cook and DuPage counties.

More than 829,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered statewide by Tuesday. About 131,000 doses were given to residents and staff at Illinois long-term-care facilities through a federal program run by CVS and Walgreens.

The state started vaccinating people in Phase 1B on Monday, which includes residents 65 and older, those who work as first responders, K-12 education workers, food and agriculture, manufacturing, corrections workers and inmates, USPS workers, public transit workers, grocery store workers, and staff at shelters and day cares.

However, in Will County, officials said in a release Thursday that they are nearing completion of vaccinating all individuals in Phase 1A. The county has now started to contact and schedule appointments for those who are in Phase 1B.