Suburban Cook County was expecting to get its first allocation of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer this week, but under the state’s tiered system it could still be months before it is available to the residents of Homewood and Flossmoor.
Cook County officials said during a conference call Monday, Dec. 14, that the suburbs were expecting to get 20,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine out of 109,000 coming to Illinois in the first allocation from the Strategic National Stockpile. But a phased rollout across the state means the first batch is reserved for health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
Dr. Kiran Joshi, co-lead for the Cook County Department of Public Health, said that first allocation will cover 20,000 people, hopefully starting by Thursday, Dec. 17, at 15 hospitals in the county. While the existing COVID-19 vaccination requires a second dose roughly three weeks after the first, Joshi said the county expects another batch to cover the second round for those 20,000 people.
Even so, the allocation is not nearly enough to get through that first group. In all, the population is divided into four groups.
“It is not enough to cover 1A,” Joshi said. “It is not enough to cover all the health care workers in hospitals in 1A. We anticipate it’s going to be at least 4 to 5 weeks before we get through that first hospital-based wave.”
Group 1A includes physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, environmental services, respiratory technicians, dentists, hygienists, long-term care staff, assisted living staff, home caregivers, morticians, funeral directors and coroner staff who are involved with the deceased.
There are more subsections of Group 1. Then vaccination goes to Groups 2 and 3 in the state’s plan. Group 4 is when anyone in the general public who is not counted among the first three would have access to the vaccine.
Israel Rocha, CEO for Cook County Health, said they are not looking that far ahead just yet in their planning efforts. He noted that is also why Cook County has not started to offer registrations for the vaccine.
“What we want to make sure we’re doing is that making sure we’re releasing the appropriate time when the different phases are eligible,” Rocha said. “If we get too far ahead and then there’s a change between now and the time the community can register — we want to make sure we’re giving people the factual steps they can take to register. We are being very cognizant that we don’t want to create systems that will then have to require duplicative work.”
Joshi said when the vaccine is ready for the general public, the county will likely utilize multiple methods of informing people and getting it to everybody.
“This is really going to be a team effort,” he said. “No one provider could vaccinate all 2.5 million residents in suburban Cook County. We will be looking to partner with health care providers, private systems, pharmacies — really wherever there is existing health care infrastructure to provide vaccines, we would want to leverage that.”
Cook officials said making sure underserved populations have access is going to be a big part of their focus. They highlighted areas in the southern and western suburbs they said have been hot spots for COVID-19 as areas they will target with the vaccine when it becomes widely available.
The state’s plan for vaccine distribution involves sending vaccines to 10 regional hospitals, where local recipients can then pick up their supply. But Cook County officials would not discuss specifics regarding locations and methods for pickup for security reasons.
Joshi said they have been “promised” weekly shipments following this first allocation. Once Moderna’s vaccine is approved in the next several day by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the numbers will increase as well.
Rachel Rubin, co-lead for the Cook County Department of Public Health, said when the vaccine becomes available to more people, they also intend to explore options for mobile and drive-thru sites in parking lots, community centers, schools and anywhere else that might accommodate them. Officials said they have an area of more than 700-square-miles to cover.
“This vaccine is safe and important and saves lives,” she said. “Every eligible person should get one.”
Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle started the call by addressing the importance of the vaccine’s rollout.
“This has been a challenging year,” she said. “As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, it is my sincere hope that today marks the moment where we look back and flag this day, Dec. 14, as the beginning of the end — the end of the pandemic that has taken too many of our friends, colleagues, family members and loved ones.”
With the celebration came a caution from Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer, who noted he has suffered much personal loss to the coronavirus in the last year. He said people need to remain steadfast in taking precautionary measures, because several thousand people in the country are still expected to die from the virus between now and Jan. 6.
As of Dec. 15, there have been 158,292 confirmed cases in suburban Cook County with 2,912 dead from causes related to the virus. There have been 507 cases in the Flossmoor 60422 zip code area, and 1,063 cases in the Homewood 60430 zip code area, according to Cook County data.
“Let’s not get too excited about the vaccine,” Deer said. “That does not mean it is OK for us to do what we want to do. We’re still not out of the woods with this yet.”
Rocha said the vaccine is important, but it is not everything at the moment. Social distancing, masks and limitations on large gatherings are still necessary.
“That rightfully provides us with hope,” Rocha said. “It is the vaccine coupled with patience that will make the difference for all of us.”
Officials know there are challenges ahead. Among them is making sure those reluctant to take the vaccine are educated about it and have access to it.
“The reluctance of many Americans to be vaccinated is understandable,” he said. “Our country has not always treated every American honestly and equitably, and we must recognize that. This pandemic has served as an example of the inequities in our nation. We have watched as minority communities suffer the brunt of the virus and be impacted with higher levels of mortality. The unemployment, food and housing insecurities that have resulted from the economic challenges are disproportionately affecting these communities. At this moment, we will ensure that is not the story for the vaccine program.”
Rocha said the county intends to do that through effective communication of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, with visits to schools, religious sites and other community locations planned to answer questions. He said he also hopes that success in the health care sector with the vaccine will help build trust in the entire community.
The vaccine will be free, and additional costs are generally covered by insurance, officials said. But Rubin said they are hoping federal funds will help drop barriers for those who do not have insurance.