NOTE: The Cook County Department of Public Health is expected to address the communication of the form at a news conference. Watch live in the player above
Cook suburban residents can now register for coronavirus vaccine updates, including when and where they will receive their first blows, while Illinois continues to launch its dose administration.
According to the Cook County Department of Public Health website, the new registration form will be used “to gather information from people who would like to receive regular updates on when and where they can receive COVID-19 vaccination.” .
Although the department notes that vaccine doses remain limited and are currently administered to priority populations, including health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities, it calls on any resident who is not “affiliated with a medical organization of any kind” to complete the survey.
In the meantime, organizations with staff currently eligible to receive the vaccine can register to receive “updates on when their staff can receive the COVID-19 vaccine” here.
The form follows one launched by suburban Lake County last month. Lake County health officials created a COVID-19 portal called “AllVax,” allowing residents to sign up for coronavirus updates, schedule appointments, and register for the vaccine.
Last week, the city of Chicago also launched its first mass vaccination site COVID-19 for health care workers, as it continues to launch thousands of doses of deadly coronavirus vaccines.
But you can’t just go to the vaccination site – known as the “distribution point” or “bridge” – to shoot yourself. You will need an appointment and only those who meet certain criteria can receive appointments at this time.
Eligible workers – Arwady listed examples, including a dental office, an outpatient clinic, a nurse, a medical office or any other type of medical worker in Chicago – will first need to make sure their office is registered in the city. .
The city’s website has a survey of health care providers to detail the practice, staff and more information before city officials begin the process of either getting vaccine doses directly in the office or by setting up meetings for health care employees. on city sites or potential locations managed by pharmacy partners or hospitals.
On New Year’s Eve, 143,924 Illinois residents received the COVID vaccine, according to a spokeswoman for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
These figures are compounded by growing fears that the slow release of the vaccine could prolong the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. According to a recent study by NBC News, the federal government should vaccinate 3 million people a day to reach the goal of vaccinating 80% of the population by the end of June.
By the end of December, only 2 million people had received the first dose, and at that rate it would take 10 years to reach the 80% vaccination threshold.
As concerns grow, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot criticized the federal government, saying it could take more than a year to administer the vaccine to all city residents at the current rate of dose deliveries.
In a post on social media on Saturday, Lightfoot said the city’s health department has administered more than 95% of the vaccine doses it has received so far from the federal government.
In the tweet, Lightfoot said that at the current dose rate, it will take 71 weeks to fully vaccinate all residents of the city.
“We need more vaccine. Now, “she said.