25,215 Fully Vaccinated Against Coronavirus In Will County

WILL COUNTY, IL — More than 25,200 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 3.64 percent of the county's total population.

95,306 total doses were administered in the county by Wednesday, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The state also shares data on its vaccine inventory, and the reported inventory for Will County is 15,740, with 1,355 of the reported inventory at the local health department, and 14,385 at community partner sites.

The county administered its highest number of doses on Feb. 18, when 4,846 doses were given, the state's data shows. After that day, the county has seen lower rates of doses administered over the past week.

"Vaccine deliveries and supplies are extremely low right now all around the state," Will County Health Department Public Information Officer Steve Brandy told Patch.

On Feb. 25, vaccine eligibility can be expanded to include adults under 65 with high-risk medical conditions and those with disabilities. Brandy said Will County will not expand vaccine eligibility yet due to a limited amount of the vaccine.

"For that reason, most counties in this area, including Will, will not be able to move on to what is now being called '1B-plus' at this time. We do not have adequate vaccine to do so," he told Patch.

Brandy said the county is still in the "early stages" of phase 1B.

"We hope things change as we move through March. We have all kinds of plans for vaccination locations around Will County, and have the supplies and volunteers to do so. We just need the vaccine," he said.

Will County ranked fifth in terms of doses administered, trailing Chicago, and Cook and DuPage and Lake counties. Comparatively, Chicago has fully vaccinated 4.64 percent of its population, Cook County is at 4.38 percent, DuPage is at 4.88 percent, and Lake County is at 3.37 percent.

More than 2.2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered statewide, IDPH data shows. About 291,000 doses were given to residents and staff at Illinois long-term-care facilities through a federal program run by CVS and Walgreens.

The state is in Phase 1B of its vaccination plan, 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.