May 18, 2024
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Even with better supply projections, vaccine shipments to Will County remain ‘disappointing’

Much of the coming shipments will be used for residents’ second doses, health department says

By Alex Ortiz

Vicky Alleman (left) and Leslie Obrochta draw syringes of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, at Will County Health Department in Joliet, Ill. The Will County Health Department is accelerating vaccination efforts throughout the region. (Geoff Stellfox - gstellfox@shawmedia.com/Geoff Stellfox - gstellfox@shawmedia.com)

The Will County Health Department is now receiving more information on what COVID-19 vaccine shipments it will receive with up to three weeks notice, but supplies will remain frustratingly low for public health officials.

President Joe Biden announced late last month an increase in weekly vaccine shipments to states. This was meant to help the state government give local health departments projections three weeks out so they could better anticipate what supplies they have to administer shots.

While Will County has received word of its anticipated future shipments of vaccine, the numbers did not provide great news, according to Steve Brandy, a spokesman for the Will County Health Department.

“It’s disappointing,” Brandy said.

Over the last few weeks, vaccine dose totals shipped to Will County have been “sporadic,” Brandy said. Shipments could include fewer than 1,000 doses or a few thousand at a time. This has made planning for appointments with the county’s 14 active providers a challenge.

In a facts sheet distributed to members of the Will County Board, the county said a typical shipment will be divided roughly with 60% of doses sent to providers and the other 40% reserved for residents’ second doses. Both vaccines that are on the market from Pfizer and Moderna require two shots a few weeks apart for full protection.

Brandy said the county will receive shipments of between roughly 6,000 and 10,000 in the coming weeks, which was less than officials had hoped for. This does mean that the county will have enough doses for residents who have already received one shot to get their second.

“Nobody’s going to miss their second dose,” he said.

Providers have administered more than 77,000 doses of vaccine in Will County as of Wednesday, per the IDPH. On average, nearly 3,000 shots are administered on a seven-day rolling basis in the county.

More than 20,000 people have been fully vaccinated in Will County, accounting for just about 3% of the county’s total population.