CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A mass COVID-19 vaccination site opened Tuesday in Aurora, Illinois' second largest city.
The site's opening kicked off a new effort called Black Vax Aurora, aimed at getting more people in the black community vaccinated.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said black and brown people have a greater risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 and getting seriously ill.
“Since minority populations, particularly brown and Black people, clearly have a greater risk of getting infected and a greater risk of serious disease, we have got to get the vaccines to them in an equitable manner,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said on ABC News during an interview with George Stephanopoulos.
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In Kane and DuPage counties, two of the counties Aurora is located in, less than 2.5 percent of the 278,000 people vaccinated are black.
That staggering statistic was the catalyst for the formation of Black Vax Aurora.
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin spearheaded the initial meeting, bringing together coalition members -- made up of members of Black churches, organizations, fraternities, sororities, and elected officials -- with VNA Healthcare to plan the first communitywide initiative to increase the percentage of Black residents receiving the vaccine.
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With vaccines provided by both the Kane and DuPage County health departments, more than 750 people received the first dose of the vaccine at the Black Vax Aurora Community Vaccination Clinic on Tuesday.
The clinic was held at the Cathedral of Grace St. John AME Church - the oldest and largest Black church in Aurora.
Mayor Richard Irvin acknowledged the reluctance on the part of black people to get vaccinated, but he said, "One thing will make our community comfortable is seeing others that look like us speak with facts about the vaccine and take it ourselves. So today we come together to do all of that and more."
Organizers said 750 appointments were filled for the site Tuesday in less than 24 hours.
Governor JB Pritzker joined local health, religious, and civic leaders on-site at the clinic. He praised the effort.
"What you’re doing is really 'Best in Class' outreach and I’m very, very grateful for it. It’s a model," Pritzker said.
The Governor went on to say, "I’ve said from the beginning that we have to be intentional about our effort to vaccinate Black and brown Illinoisans and communities that have been left out and left behind for far too long."
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Theodia Gillespie, president and CEO of the Quad County Urban League talked about the importance of black Aurora community leaders getting vaccinated and informing others about it.
"Our charge is to be that example, taking the vaccine to help reduce the levels of fear and doubt and increase the likelihood of vaccine acceptance thereby increasing the number of vaccinations," Gillespie said.
Karen Ayala, the executive director of the DuPage County Health Department said, "The vaccination effort today represents our ongoing commitment through DuPage County to address the health inequities that have been exacerbated by this current pandemic."
Mayor Irvin said vaccination efforts targeting the Latino community will kickoff March 19 and for the disabled community on March 25.
Meanwhile, with the addition of a third vaccine by Johnson and Johnson, Governor Pritzker said he expects at least an average of 100,000 doses of vaccine a day to be delivered to Illinois by the federal government by the middle of the month.
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