April 25, 2024
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Will County agency helps vaccinate homeless individuals

By Alex Ortiz
Pharmacy Manager Nicole Costa prepares the first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to be administered on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, at AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Ill. Health care workers from AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center received the first round of vaccinations in Will County.

Pharmacy Manager Nicole Costa prepares the first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to be administered on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, at AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Ill. Health care workers from AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center received the first round of vaccinations in Will County.

Some agencies in Will County are helping individuals experiencing homelessness get vaccinated for COVID-19.

The Will County Continuum of Care used an annual event meant to count anyone in the area who needs shelter to vaccinate those who wanted a shot. The Will County Health Department reserved several doses for the event.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires agencies to record data on their local unsheltered population. Since the Continuum of Care had already scheduled their event on Thursday, organizers thought it would make sense to use the opportunity to vaccinate those interested, according to a statement from the health department.

Health officials in Will County are continuing to work through the first phase of the state’s vaccination program.

Through Friday, 7,775 people have been fully vaccinated in Will County, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. That represents about 1.12% of the county’s total population, though the county has among the highest vaccination rates in the state at this early stage.

The health department said it expects the county to move on to vaccinating older residents and frontline essential workers in the coming weeks.