Madison County begins vaccinating individuals 65+, front-line workers and educators
Madison County will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to some people in the 1B category this week.
Starting next week, people in the 1B category also will be able to schedule appointments online and on the phone for the shots, officials announced Thursday.
Vaccinations by appointment only will be available to people who live or work in Madison County and are part of the 1B category. That includes people who are 65 years and older or front-line essential workers.
“We will be in Phase 1b for some time,” said Madison County Public Health Director Toni Corona in a statement. “There are more than 50,000 people in Madison County who are eligible for Phase 1B. There will be plenty of vaccine available for anyone who wants to receive it. It will just take some time to get to everyone.”
Corona said that more shots will be available as time goes on, leading to more dates and times when the vaccine will be available to individuals in the 1B group.
“Please be patient,” Corona said. “Vaccine distribution is just starting. Supplies should continue to increase to meet demand. This vaccination process will take several months to accomplish.”
There are about 3.2 million Illinoisans in Phase 1B. They include:
People who are 65 years old or older
Firefighters
Law enforcement officers
911 workers
Security personnel
Teachers, principals and school support staff members
Daycare workers
Food and agriculture workers
Manufacturing workers
Corrections workers and inmates
U.S. Postal Service workers
Public transit workers, including those who work for ride-sharing services
Grocery store workers
Staff members at homeless shelters and women’s shelters
“During Phase 1A, 11,434 total doses of vaccine were administered in Madison County as of Jan. 27,” Corona said.
Weekly vaccination clinics in Madison County will be scheduled at several locations by appointment only, including the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville and Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey.
In a statement, officials also announced the health department and the county Regional Office of Education will hold vaccination clinics on Saturdays at the Gateway Convention Center starting in mid-February to help vaccinate the nearly 10,000 educators in the county.
Officials said hospitals, health centers and local medical providers will support the vaccination efforts during phase 1B, vaccinating essential workers and supporting health department efforts.
Earlier this month, Health Department Director of Community Health and PR Director Amy Yeager said people will need patience during the 1B phase of vaccinations as the group is much larger than 1A, which included health care professionals and people working and living in long-term health care facilities.
“We need people to be patient and understand these larger counties are going to take longer to get through this phase,” Yeager said. “It’s going to take a lot of patience.”
Some vulnerable areas of Madison County will host smaller clinics to support the effort as well.
Individuals who live or work in Madison County can fill out the Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Vaccine Registration Survey online at madisonchd.org.
As of Thursday, 2,701 individuals in Madison County had been fully vaccinated, or roughly 1.02% of the county’s population. In Illinois, 178,684 individuals have been fully vaccinated, or 1.04% of the state’s population.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 1:41 PM.