DuPage County Health Department to offer COVID-19 vaccine to children starting Monday

Several healthcare vaccine providers throughout DuPage County are opening COVID-19 vaccinations to children ages 12 to 15 years old.

The DuPage County Health Department [DCHD] will open vaccinations to this age group by May 17. Parents can begin to register their 12- to 15-year- old children at dupagehealth.org/covid19vaccineregistration to schedule an appointment with DCHD. For vaccine providers beginning vaccinations May 13, visit www.dupagehealth.org/covid19vaccine.

“Vaccinating our adolescents is a high priority and will be critical in our efforts to put an end to this pandemic and protect the health and well-being of our residents,” Karen Ayala, executive director of the DuPage County Health Department, said in a statement. “The studies show this vaccine is safe and highly effective in children. We encourage parents to get themselves and their eligible children vaccinated as soon as they are able. Vaccinations will help protect our children and get them back to their friends and activities they love.”

As of May 12, about 42%, or 388,951 DuPage County residents, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Of the DuPage County residents currently eligible, 64%, or 473,780, have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Additionally, 91% of DuPage County residents 65 years and older have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. In the past week, more than 57,000 vaccine doses were administered into the arms of DuPage County residents for a total of 862,731 doses administered to date, according to the DCHD.

This week, in addition to the DCHD Vaccination Clinic’s weekday and Saturday hours, the DCHD will begin offering evening hours on Thursdays. Walk-ins are welcome from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Although no appointment is necessary, pre-registration is encouraged to save time. For information about what to expect and how to prepare, visit www.dupagehealth.org/688/COVID-19-Vaccination-Clinic-DuPage-Count.

DuPage County residents, 16 years and older, who are homebound or who cannot safely leave their residence to visit a vaccination clinic, are eligible to be vaccinated through the county’s homebound vaccination program and should register atwww.dupagehealth.org/covid19vaccineregistration or call 630-682-7400 for assistance. When registering, the form will provide an opportunity to indicate you require homebound services. To date, DCHD staff and paramedics have vaccinated 67 individuals at home.

DCHD continues to work toward achieving the goal of vaccinating 80% of eligible DuPage County residents by July 1. To help do so, the DCHD is partnering with municipalities, businesses and community-based organizations to bring smaller COVID-19 vaccine clinics closer to individuals who have not yet been vaccinated.

These smaller COVID-19 vaccine clinics can administer a scalable number of vaccines depending on the demand at a particular event and day/time. To request an on-site mobile vaccination clinic, complete this form or learn more at www.dupagehealth.org/692/COVID-19-Vaccine-Organizations.

As vaccination efforts continue throughout DuPage County, residents are reminded of the substantial COVID-19 community transmission levels. The highest case activity continues to be observed in unvaccinated adults 20- to 39-years-old and 40- to 59-years-old as well as youth 5- to 19-years-old. Additionally, DCHD is closely monitoring reports of COVID-19 variants in the county. These variants are classified as COVID-19 variants of concern as they spread more easily and quickly than other variants and likely cause more severe disease based on hospitalizations and case-fatality rates. More information on COVID-19 variants is available at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/index.html.

For DuPage County-specific vaccine data, including first dose allocations by week and allocations by provider type, are available on the COVID-19 Dashboard at www.dupagehealth.org/covid19data.

Additional COVID-19 vaccine information about local efforts, frequently asked questions, vaccination data, and more is available at www.dupagehealth.org/covid19vaccine.

For general questions about COVID-19 and Illinois’ response and guidance, call 1-800-889- 3931 or email DPH.SICK@ILLINOIS.GOV.