CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The head of the Cook County Board, and other officials, are making a big gesture to assure teachers they are not being forgotten amid the crush to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Elected officials and school officials gathered Wednesday at Thornton Fractional South High School to inaugurate the Cook County’s first educational mass coronavirus vaccination site.
The new vaccination site, staffed by members of the Illinois National Guard, is set to administer 400 shots a day to teachers and other school district employees in the south and southwest suburbs, Cook County public health officials said.
It’s not a walk-up site and appointments are being scheduled by Thornton Fractional Township High School District 215, which is contacting teachers and other school staff.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said this is a pilot program, and could eventually be opened to vaccinate others eligible for the vaccine in Phase 1B.
"Here at Thornton Fractional South, we will be looking to vaccinate more than 5,000 individuals who are employees of the south suburban conference," she said. "As a former teacher, as I already said, this is my tribe. Being apart of this opening in particularly meaningful to me. I know how hard educators have been working during the pandemic, and I am pleased that we have been able to set up this site to make it easier for them to be vaccinated."
Related
Cook County Public Health Department CEO Israel Rocha said the pilot vaccination site is meant to serve teachers and staff at District 215, as well as employees of elementary districts that feed into the high school district and 66 other south and southwest suburban districts that come under the umbrella of the Chicago Heights-based South Cook Intermediate Service Center.
"It is important to emphasize that this is not a public site. We are working to vaccinate teachers, school personnel in order to begin to return our communities to normalcy and fortify our critical services throughout the county," he said.
Related
Eventually, as vaccine supplies increase, some 5,000 school employees in the Southland region are expected to be vaccinated at the site.
Preckwinkle said other mass vaccination sites are opening, but she is cautioning everyone to be patient as they try to get appointments for the shots. There is still not enough vaccine being delivered to fill all the needs.