Still waiting to be vaccinated in St. Clair County? Get your questions answered here.
As the vaccination effort continues across the nation, St. Clair County reported Thursday more than 9,000 people had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or roughly 3.60% of the county’s population. More people have become eligible for vaccinations this past week.
Who in the county is eligible to receive their vaccine? Are more people becoming eligible? How do I get an appointment?
Vaccinations of healthcare workers and others in the 1A vaccinations group began in mid-December and have been ongoing. Recently, area counties including St. Clair County have started expanding the pool of people eligible to receive vaccinations.
Q: I’ve heard more people are eligible for vaccinations in St. Clair County? Who does that include?
Officials in the county announced recently vaccinations of the second part of phase 1B would begin, which includes people between the ages of 16 and 64 who have one or more of the following conditions:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Pulmonary disease
- Heart conditions
- Chronic kidney disease
- Cancer
- Immunocompromised state from a solid organ transplant
- Sickle cell disease
- Pregnancy
- Persons with a disability
The state was scheduled to begin vaccinations of of people eligible for Phase 1B part 2 on Feb. 26.
Additionally, St. Clair County is vaccinating the following eligible individuals based on vaccine availability:
- People 65-years of age or older
- Healthcare workers
- Firefighters
- Law enforcement officers
- 911 dispatchers
- Security personnel
- Corrections officers and inmates
- Food and agriculture workers
- Postal service workers
- Manufacturing workers
- Grocery store workers
- Teachers and educational support staff
- Shelter employees
- Adult day care facilities
To see a full list of who is eligible to be vaccinated in the metro-east and for other questions about vaccines, visit the Belleville News-Democrat vaccine FAQ.
Q: I’m over 65 years old and I haven’t received an appointment to be vaccinated yet. Meanwhile, St. Clair County is expanding groups eligible to be vaccinated. What should I do to ensure I’ll get vaccinated?
The county is urging anyone who is over 65 who hasn’t received a notification to schedule their vaccination to thoroughly check their email (including the spam folder.) If you still can’t find a notification, you should call the county’s helpline at 618-825-4447. The line often is busy due to a heavy volume of call, but county officials urge people to keep trying.
County Emergency Management Agency Herb Simmons said people who are eligible will receive their shot in the long run, but again stressed patience as the county continues the vaccination process.
“Please be patient,” Simmons said of the busy call line. “You will get your shot, there’s no doubt about it. It may take a little longer but you’re going to get a shot in the arm.”
Q. I received a notification of vaccine availability email with a link to the St. Clair County Health Department site with a special code. I filled the code in and it assigned me a day for a vaccine, but all the appointment times it offered said they were taken. I tried again: Now it says all registrations are full. What am I supposed to do?
As more individuals become eligible for vaccination in St. Clair County, more invites are being sent out through email. If you find that you’ve received a code to schedule a vaccination appointment through the St. Clair County Health Department, but all appointments are taken, county officials are encouraging people to “be patient” and keep trying.
County Emergency Management Agency Assistant Director Bryan Whitaker said the link that you are provided will work until you get an appointment (multiple days), not just the day you received it. So if you’re having trouble scheduling an appointment, continue to try several times throughout the day until you get it.
“Use the link and continue to check back each day,” Whitaker said. “Each day we’re adding more and more appointments. Don’t be frustrated if you get notified that it’s full, there are more appointments coming and you have your notification now.”
To receive a notification, people who are eligible must fill out the COVID-19 Notification for Vaccine Availability form online at health.co.st-clair.il.us. (If you don’t have internet access or need help signing up, call the health department at 618-825-4447.)
Chairman Mark Kern said scheduling will improve as more vaccinations continue to arrive in the county. He said the schedule will stop allowing people to sign up on a certain day if the number of vaccination doses available that day have been designated to an appointment. In the meantime, asks people to be patient as the county works to get more doses.
Q: I have an appointment to be vaccinated at St. Clair County Belle-Clair Fairground mass vaccination site. Should I arrive early for my appointment?
No. Officials in St. Clair County are stressing that individuals with appointments show up at the vaccination site at the time they are scheduled to receive their vaccination shot.
County officials say if you do show up early for your shot, you will be turned away and asked to return at the originally scheduled time. Early arrivals are causing traffic congestion and longer waits at the site, Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons said Thursday.
Several streets south of downtown Belleville were gridlocked Thursday by more than 150 vehicles at a time while passengers waiting to get COVID-19 vaccinations at Belle-Clair Fairgrounds.
“When people show up three and four hours before their appointments this is what happens, “Simmons said. “There’s enough vaccine for the people who have appointments today, we just ask for patience.”
Q. When do I come back for my second shot?
A. The timing of your second shot depends on which shot you received. According to the FDA, if you receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, you will be scheduled to receive your second dose 21 days after your first dose. For the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, a second dose is administered 28 days later.
What vaccine you get varies from day-to-day in counties throughout Illinois and depends on what vaccine is provided by the state health department on that day.
On your vaccination card, there may be a date for when you should receive your second shot. St. Clair County officials stressed that, unless notified, that date does not count as an appointment. The county health department will contact you via email or phone to set up your second vaccine appointment.