GALESBURG The state of Illinois has hopes to soon expand its vaccination program into a larger pool of individuals on Feb. 25. Based on the way vaccine supply has been distributed as of late, the Knox County Unified Command is not sure it will be able to follow this guidance for some time.
Pritzker announced Wednesday that the state would extend vaccine eligibility to people with pre-existing conditions including diabetes, heart disease, COPD and obesity starting Feb. 25.
In Knox County, where work is still less than half completed in vaccinating the approximately 10,000 county residents who are 65 or older, it is unlikely that the Knox County Unified Command, OSF St. Mary Medical Center and Cottage Hospital will be able to meet the increased demand from these new vaccination groups.
February 1, 2021
The Knox County Unified Command announced there will be a community-based COVID-19 vaccination clinic tomorrow, Tuesday for Phase 1B residents 65 years of age or older who reside in or work in Knox County and those in Phase 1A who still need to be vaccinated.
Within 90 minutes all of the appointments were filled through online scheduling.
The clinic will be by appointment only but is planning on running from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Knox County Farm Bureau Office on Soangetaha Road.
Remember Farm Bureau staff can’t answer questions about vaccines or COVID.
Public Health Administrator for Knox County Michele Gabriele says they hope this system will provide “easier access to appointments”. This follows highly attended clinics held last week where in some cases people showed up in the early morning and waited hours for one of the shots.
Galesburg Register-Mail
GALESBURG COVID-19 vaccinations started Thursday morning in Galesburg for Knox County residents 65 and over. One of three county vaccination sites had run out of vaccine by 11 a.m. and another by noon.
In a news release from the Knox County Unified Command, public information officer Erin Olson announced that the Knox County Farm Bureau COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic, which was run by the Unified Command, had run out of its supply of vaccines for the day. We are asking members of the public to return tomorrow, Friday . and to avoid the area in the meantime due to traffic concerns, the release said.
Rich Egger
Some counties are releasing more information about COVID-19 vaccination schedules. And financial assistance is headed to small businesses in a couple communities.
Lee County
The Lee County Health Department said people age 65 and older will now be included in the state’s Phase 1B for COVID-19 vaccinations. The phase will start next month.
The county health department said it already has a list of more than 800 people who have called with contact information and are waiting for an appointment. The department said it will schedule appointments as doses of the vaccine come in. It estimates receiving 200 doses the first week of February.
January 18, 2021
Knox County is moving on to Phase 1B of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout but this phase could take a while.
Public Health Administrator Michele Gabriel says as they move on to groups that represent large parts of the local population, she says they’re currently only getting about 1,000 doses a week.
Phase 1B includes residents 65 and older and many essential frontline workers. The frontline essential workers designation includes many residents who carry a higher risk of COVID-19 exposure because of their work duties.
This is often because they can’t work from home, and/or they must work closely with others without being able to socially distance themselves.