CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- McHenry County is getting a big boost in its effort to provide as many COVID vaccinations as possible.
The city of McHenry a “really large facility” to the McHenry County Department of Health that would be able to handle giving out 1,000 COVID vaccine doses every hour, Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson told the County Board on Tuesday.
"It’s a really large facility. So, the site’s going to give us the ability to expand capacity up to 1000 doses per hour. I know that number sounds really big, but it is a huge space," she said.
Now, all that’s needed are the vaccines. Supplies have been nowhere near that kind of level yet.
"We’re going to do a final walkthrough Friday and then the city will hand over the keys to us," Adamson said.
The new site is set to open next week; and while 1,000 doses an hour may seem like a big jump, Adamson said, it is possible.
“We are ready to vaccinate at this level as soon as vaccine supply opens up and becomes available to us,” she said.
Adamson said 4,000 teachers were vaccinated last week, as two all-day clinics provided vaccines at a rate of 200 people an hour.
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In the meantime, however, she said first-dose vaccine supplies over the next three weeks will be lower, as the state works to provide second doses to people in need.
“The next three weeks, our focus is going to be on second doses for those in the [Phase] 1A and the [Phase] 1B who have already been vaccinated,” Adamson said. “Our first dose supply, though, over the next three weeks is expected to be lower ... so we are going to be getting around 900 doses for first vaccines each week for the next three weeks.”
County residents 65 and older will be prioritized to receive those 900 doses available each week, Adamson said.