Popular Categories

No categories found.

County To Start Reserving Vaccine Appointments For Residents Of 6 Proviso Suburbs


Friday, March 19, 2021 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

Six communities in the Village Free Press readership area are among 32 municipalities that will be the focus of the Cook County Department of Public Health’s equity distribution programs, county officials announced March 19. The designation means county officials will start reserving vaccines appointments specifically for residents in those targeted suburbs.

“We are committed to an equitable distribution of the vaccine with an emphasis on communities that have been most dramatically impacted by COVID to help allow all of our Cook County residents to return to normal life as soon as possible,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

The selected municipalities include Bellwood, Berkeley, Maywood, Melrose Park, Northlake and Stone Park. County officials said the target municipalities were selected based on the county’s COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index (CCVI), and Social Vulnerability Index.

“Both indexes take into account factors including socioeconomic, household composition and disability, minority status and language, housing type and transportation, pre-existing health conditions and the state of the community’s healthcare system,” county officials said in a statement released March 19.

A woman gets the COVID-19 vaccine at Hines VA Hospital in Maywood earlier this year. | Hines VA Hospital/Facebook 

The county health department is working with community-based organizations, private health providers and other stakeholders “to identify vulnerable residents, particularly in these 32 communities, and to arrange for vaccination appointments for those individuals.”

Dr. Rachel Rubin, the senior medical officer and co-lead of the health department, said the department “identified these communities as our most vulnerable to determine where to strategically direct our programs and resources as we move through the phases.”

The county will “be reserving appointments specifically for these communities,” officials explained. “In addition, the county’s mobile operations have recently expanded to allow for widespread vaccination of residents throughout the county, including these vulnerable communities.”

As of March 19, according to county health department data, roughly 20 percent of people in west suburban Cook County have gotten at least one dose of the three vaccines that are available from Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna.

All but one of the six Village Free Press communities that the county targeted based on its vulnerability indices fell below that 20 percent figure for the west suburbs.

Around 21 percent of Northlake residents had at least one dose as of March 19, with around 10 percent having completed the vaccination process — the highest rate among the six communities.

The lowest percentage was Stone Park, where only 9 percent of residents have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine and only 4 percent have completed the vaccination process.

A chart showing vaccination rates of the six targeted suburbs in the Village Free Press readership area. Data provided by Cook County Department of Public Health. 

So far, vaccines are still reserved for residents in Illinois who are over 65 and/or are essential workers. According to county data, approximately 70 percent of senior citizens in suburban Cook County has received at least one vaccine dose.

Starting March 22, however, suburban Cook County will move to phase 1b+, during which “individuals 16 years and older with Cancer, Chronic Kidney Disease, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Diabetes, Heart Conditions, Immunocompromised from organ transplant, Obesity, Pulmonary Disease and Sickle Cell Disease as well as individuals with disabilities, pregnant women and smokers.

For the latest COVID-19 vaccination information in suburban Cook County, visit https://cookcountypublichealth.org/. To register to receive an appointment, visit vaccine.cookcountyil.gov

Leave a Reply