ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL – The Cook County Department of Public Health launched a new vaccination application form on Monday, as Illinois moved on to Phase 1b, the second phase of its COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan, in that people aged 65 and over and some line workers are eligible to receive doses.
Public health officials estimate that there are approximately 3.2 million people who qualify for Phase 1b vaccination. In addition to the elderly, those whose work has a higher risk of exposure to the virus can be vaccinated in the second priority group.
These essential frontline workers include: public security, manufacturing, education, agriculture, the post office, grocery stores and public transport workers, as well as residents and employees in living facilities such as prisons, prisons, shelters and rehabilitation sites.
Public health officials have recommended that all Arlington Heights residents fill out the suburban Cook district vaccination registration form, which is available in English and Spanish.
The application will provide information on when people are eligible to receive a dose, how to schedule a vaccine appointment through Cook County Health and updates on other vaccine distribution locations in Cook County, according to the county’s public health department. .
As of Monday, more than 80,000 residents of the Cook County suburbs covered by the department – all except Evanston, Oak Park, Skokie and Stickney Township – received at least one dose, and nearly 24,000 received both doses. About 18.6 percent of those vaccinated so far were 60 or older, according to the department’s website.
State public health officials also revealed a vaccination site finder on Monday. Governor JB Pritzker’s office said it will soon include hundreds of sites that will begin offering engagements for jabs. The Illinois Department of Public Health also launched a statewide vaccination registration form for those included in Phase 1b.
Pritzker appeared on Monday in Tinley Park, at Cook County’s first mass vaccination site, which is being administered by the Illinois National Guard. The governor said state officials are hesitant to open many mass vaccination sites while doses of the vaccine are so scarce. The state has received about 120,000 for each of the past two weeks, he said.
“You don’t want to overdo it,” said Pritzker. “But you want to be ready with the infrastructure when the number of doses increases.”
The Cook County Department of Public Health plans to distribute vaccines to 91 sites, including Cook County health facilities, 40 Walgreens sites, as well as other pharmacies and hospitals.
And at least one suburban firefighters group has offered to provide additional assistance to the county, but it is not clear whether the offer was accepted.
In a January 7 letter, fire chiefs from four northern suburbs and officials from the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, or MABAS, called for certified paramedics at municipal firefighters to be used immediately to help administer vaccines to residents. from Cook County suburbs in Phase 1b and 1c.
“One lesson we must remember from the beginning of the pandemic was that the process of establishing tests for COVID-19 was a disaster at a critical time in the pandemic,” said the firefighters. “In retrospect, we were not prepared for the large number of people who need to be tested. Therefore, it is important to use all the resources available in Cook County to avoid a similar result with vaccination.
“Unfortunately, relying solely on commercial pharmacies, private doctors and other commercial locations will overburden the system, cause unnecessary delays and likely cause many individuals to not even realize that they are eligible for the vaccine and how they should proceed to obtain it,” they added. . “As of now, the burden has been placed on individuals in Phases 1B and 1C to seek the vaccine themselves; we are offering to assume that responsibility in the best possible way to directly reach our most vulnerable residents and ensure the greatest number of individuals as possible in Phases 1B and 1C are vaccinated. “
No response to the letter was available on Monday from a spokesman for the Cook County Department of Public Health.
Cook County public health officials are offering a hotline for vaccine registration, with staff from 7 am to 7 pm weekdays, at 833-308-1988.
County officials provided a list of answers to common questions about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
RELATED: Illinois Begins Phase 1b of the COVID-19 Vaccine Launch
On Saturday, Arlington Heights and the rest of Suburban Cook County, or Region 10 in Pritzker’s Restore Illinois’s reopening plan, switched to Tier 1 COVID-19 mitigation measures, which allow for indoor meals with 25% capacity in Bars and restaurants.
Meetings and social events can take place with up to 25 people, and some organized sports can be practiced.
On Monday, the average continuous positivity of the coronavirus over seven days in the region was 6.9%. If it falls below 6.5 percent for three days, while the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients continues to fall or remain stable, the region will be eligible to further loosen restrictions on business and activities, according to state officials.
“We are going in the right direction,” said Dr. Kiran Joshi, senior medical officer in the Cook County Department of Public Health, “but we must remain vigilant and continue to wear a mask, be careful with the distance, wash our hands and get vaccinated when eligible. “
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