February 1, 2021
Dear editor;
As a newly-elected Kane County Board member, I want to provide as much information to the public as I can. The question I receive most often is, “When can I get vaccinated? ”Unfortunately, the only answer I can give people is “soon”, and I feel it is important to explain why I cannot give them a full answer.
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to Kane County residents is complicated and depends upon a long supply chain that starts on the National level and ends with shots into arms. Our Kane County Health Department is doing the distribution as quickly as possible under the circumstances.
The root of the problem is the demand for the vaccine is far exceeding the current supply that we are receiving from the State government. The Federal government supplies the vaccine to the Illinois Department of Public Health. It is distributed to the counties. Because the delivery of doses to Kane County has been unpredictable (for example 13,000 doses last week and none this week), our Kane County Health Department cannot know when our next batch of vaccines will be available.
To date, 26,561 doses have been administered to Kane County residents. Most of these doses have gone to those in Priority Group 1A, which includes frontline health-care workers and residents and staff members of long-term health-care facilities. Priority Group 1B is eligible to receive the vaccine. This group includes those over the age of 65 and all essential workers, including teachers, grocery store, and factory, employees, and others who cannot work from home. Priority Group 1B in Kane County is more than 100,000 citizens.
Some good news is the Kane County Health Department has launched a website for members of Group 1B to sign up for vaccination appointments. Please go to www.kanehealth.com/Pages/COVID-Vaccine.aspx.
We are working with low-tech and no-tech agencies to make sure our seniors and others with limited access to the internet will be served. You can call the Kane Health Department at 630-208-3801.
Our Health Department has been planning for a vaccination distribution since the 2001-2002 anthrax scare. The COVID-19 Vaccination Plan is the result of 20 years of preparing for a public health emergency of this magnitude. We are in good hands, and we all will get vaccinated soon.
To stay informed about when you can get the vaccine, go to www.kanecountyconnects.com to sign up for our daily newsletter. If you have additional questions, please call me, Mavis Bates, Kane County Board member, District 4, at 630-605-9244.
Mavis Bates, Kane County Board member, District 4, Aurora