Health officials said on Thursday that more than half of all seniors age 65 and older in Lake County have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to data provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health, more than 175,000 doses have been administered to Lake County residents in total. Over 8% of the total population in the county is fully vaccinated.
“Through our mass vaccination efforts and partnerships with local hospitals, healthcare providers, private businesses, schools, and municipalities, we’re gaining momentum in our fight against COVID-19,” said Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister.
“This week alone, our Health Department has invited over 12,000 seniors age 65 and older to schedule their appointments at the Lake County Fairgrounds through the AllVax system,” he said.
The health department opened appointments this week to all remaining registrants eligible in Phase 1A, a group that includes healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents.
Thousands of more vaccine appointments are now available each week to Phase 1B registrants, which includes seniors age 65 and older and frontline essential workers.
Those who are in the Phase 1B plus group, which includes all residents with high-risk conditions, are not yet eligible for vaccination at Lake County sites that receive their vaccine from the county.
Sites that receive their vaccine directly from the state or federal government have moved to Phase 1B plus.
“As more doses of vaccine become available to us, our coalition of partners stands ready to make vaccines available to all of our residents, with the capacity already in place to vaccinate tens of thousands each week,” Pfister said.
“We continue to encourage residents to explore their vaccination options and take the first available appointment, because our ultimate goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible,” he added.
The health department suggests all residents sign up at allvax.lakecohealth.org in order to be notified when an appointment is available to them. Invitations to schedule appointments are sent as vaccine supply arrives.
Residents can also see additional vaccination options by visiting coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/vaccination-location.