CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Illinois set a new record Tuesday as 53,628 people received coronavirus vaccine shots.
Since the vaccine rollout began, more than 770,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been put in people's arms. The current seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 33,698 doses.
But with 3.2 million more residents now eligible in Phase 1B of the state's COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan, Governor Pritzker said Wednesday he expects those numbers to expand.
"We're moving as fast as we can. The number of vaccinations available to people is ramping up. I'm very pleased to see that," Pritzker said. "But this is going to take time. People are going to have to be patient."
The state is receiving about 140,000 new doses from the federal government per week, Pritzker said.
Area health departments also said they're doing the best they can with the COVID vaccine doses they can get their hands on.
The McHenry County Health Department said more than 25,000 people aged 65 or older enrolled to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
An estimated 44,000 people fall within that age group in McHenry County, according to the health department. And more residents aged 65 and older are expected to enroll.
"Now is the time to learn about all the options for where you can schedule an appointment for a vaccine," Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson said in a statement. "We expect that as more vaccine becomes available, obtaining an appointment will get easier. We encourage everyone to take advantage of these other resources to get vaccinated if given the opportunity."
Clinics hosted by the health department and community partners currently have limited appointments based on vaccine availability, according to the health department. Additionally, the state of Illinois is partnering with retail pharmacies, such as Walgreens and Jewel-Osco, to provide COVID-19 vaccinations. People can get information on where and how to schedule an appointment with these pharmacies at coronavirus.Illinois.gov.
Illinois' next phase of COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan: persons 65+, frontline essential workers
In DuPage County, the county fairgrounds will switch over next month from being a COVID-19 testing site to a COVID mass vaccination site.
According to the Daily Herald, DuPage County's COVID-19 vaccination campaign has been leading the rest of Illinois. More than 1.6 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, second only to rural Stark County in central Illinois.
But the amount of vaccine allocated to DuPage has varied widely from week to week. The state health department determines the number of doses going to DuPage.
Seniors and front-line essential workers should register for the vaccine through multiple avenues. Health care systems are advising eligible patients to sign up directly using their MyChart account. Pharmacy chains and the county health department have registration portals online.
"It's extremely important to get on a list," said Executive Director Karen Ayala. "I would encourage people to get on as many lists as they possibly can because it is the same vaccine. It doesn't matter where you get it."
So far, 141,000 residents have registered at the health department's website, Dupagehealth.org. An online form asks for their phone number and email. The county will contact them to schedule an appointment for their first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
The Kane County Health Department said it has received nearly 44,000 doses of the vaccine. Of those, 22,000 to 24,000 were administered by the department and 20,000 were delivered to hospitals.
"Just like the rest of the country, it's been a little bit intermittent – how much has been coming to us," Michael Isaacson, assistant director of community health at the Kane County Health Department, told the Kane County Chronicle.
"So it's been very hard for us to predict from week to week how much is coming. About 13,000 doses that were delivered last week, we don't expect to get any this week. So when we do our planning and set our schedules, we are being very cautious about scheduling clinics unless we really feel secure that we're going to have vaccine on hand."
Isaacson said the state has been sending vaccine to the health department to distribute, but the state will now be sending it directly to the providers who are signed up to administer the vaccines.
The county has been receiving the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine, which must be given in two doses. Johnson and Johnson is getting ready to release a single-dose vaccine that will cut the work in half, Isaacson said.
"It's only going to get better from here. We thought it would never come," Isaacson said. "I'd like to point out that it's pretty miraculous that for a disease that just showed up a year ago that we already have multiple vaccines on the market."
