December 22, 2024
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Kane County offering COVID vaccine appointments for kids ages 6 months and older

By James Fuller - Daily Herald Media Group

Shaw Media file photo of the pediatric area of the Kane County Vax Hub in Batavia. The Kane County Health Department will begin offering appointments for children ages 6 months and older to receive a Covid vaccine. (Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

Parents of children 6 months and older can start getting COVID-19 vaccines from the Kane County mass vaccination hub in Batavia as soon as next Wednesday.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials recommended COVID-19 vaccinations for children as young as 6 months last week. Kane County Public Health Department officials said Wednesday they are already training for the proper administration of the shots as well as preparing to store and preserve doses during the ongoing heat wave.

Health officials told the County Board’s public health committee most local providers will have only the Pfizer version of the vaccine, at least initially. The county’s mass vaccination hub, at 501 N. Randall Road, will have both the Pfizer and Moderna versions of the vaccine. The shots will be administered by appointment only. Appointments can be scheduled online.

The new availability of the vaccine to younger residents comes at a time when the county seems to be recovering from the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Uche Onwuta, the county’s director of health promotion, said the county is now in the “Medium” community transmission level after reaching the “High” category through much of May and early June.

“From May to June, our hospital admissions are going up,” Onwuta said. “The deaths are not rising as quickly as the admissions are rising. Fewer people are getting so seriously ill that it would lead to death. I hope next month will show a downward trend because the surge is ebbing a bit.”

During the recent surge, residents 30-39 and 50-59 showed the most reported infections, though all age groups have seen a fairly even distribution of sickness in the last month. The latest stats show that 67.7% of the county is fully vaccinated.

Onwuta said the CDC still recommends wearing masks on public transportation or ongoing mask use for people with a high-risk health status.

In addition to opening the vaccine to younger residents, CDC officials have now eliminated the requirement to show a negative COVID-19 test or evidence of recovery from the virus before entering the United States. All people 5 and older can now also receive a vaccine booster shot after completing the primary series of doses.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20220622/kane-county-offering-covid-vaccine-appointments-for-6-months-and-older

Kane CountyCOVID-19 VaccineHealth