As demand for COVID-19 vaccinations in Illinois decreases, Kane County mass vaccination sites are cutting back on the number of days they are open.
The Kane County announcement comes at the same time Cook County officials said half of its six suburban mass vaccination locations will permanently close.
While each of the four main Kane County mass vaccination sites operates on its own schedule, the sites are no longer open as many days a week. For example, the Batavia site was open six days a week. Now, its upcoming days of operation are Saturday, Wednesday and Saturday, June 5.
The Aurora mass vaccination site will be open Friday and Saturday, but will not be open again until Friday, June 4. The Elgin site will run Friday and not be open again until Friday, June 4.
For a full schedule for the sites, go to www.kanevax.org. Kane County Health Department spokeswoman Susan Stack said the days the sites will be open in the future will be based on demand, vaccine supply and other factors.
Residents can attend any of the sites either with an appointment made online or by walking in to get the vaccine.
In Kane County, 38.78% of the population is fully vaccinated with 452,184 doses administered as of Thursday. As of last week, about 85% of the senior population had at least one dose of the vaccine, said Michael Isaacson, assistant director of community health for the Kane County Health Department.
In the 16 to 64 age group, over 50% of residents have had at least one shot, Isaacson said during a Kane County Board committee meeting last week.
Earlier this month, 600 children between 12 and 16 years old came into Kane County clinics to get vaccinated on the first day that age group was eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine.
“It’s really exciting news,” Isaacson said. “We are seeing a lot of spread in younger people, so that is a group that we really want to encourage.”
Overall, county officials are trying to change their strategy on outreach and in some communities, people are going door-to-door to talk about the need for everyone to get the vaccine, Kane County Board Chairwoman Corinne Pierog said.
“Now we’re getting to the point where it’s really one-on-one discussions and getting people out into the community and having somebody that they trust, which is getting easier because we have so many people getting vaccinated,” Isaacson said.
mejones@chicagotribune.com
