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The McHenry County Department of Health will establish an electronic registration system for COVID-19 vaccine clinics, it said Thursday in a news release.
The registration system will open to the general public after prioritized groups, such as health care workers and long-term care facility residents, have had the chance to take the vaccine, according to a news release.
In the meantime, residents can get up-to-date vaccine information at a newly created health department site, at bit.ly/3p2LNSV, and sign up for notifications about vaccine availability. Residents without internet access will be able to register by phone.
The announcement followed an update Wednesday by McHenry County health department officials to local mayors on the plans for the distribution of the initial round of vaccine doses meant to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
“We are encouraging the general public to sign up for health department e-notifications so they can receive updated information and be alerted when vaccination clinics are open to the general public, how to register for these clinics and where to go,” McHenry County Department of Health Public Health Nursing Director Susan Karras said in the release. “We are asking for the public’s patience and understanding as we have not been notified of when our rollout will begin nor the allotment of vaccines that we will be receiving.”
After health care workers and long-term care facility residents, vaccines will be made available next to essential infrastructure workers like those in education, food and agriculture, utilities, police and firefighters, among others. Then, the third tier of vaccination prioritization includes adults with medical conditions that put them at high risk of developing severe symptoms of the virus, and adults 65 and older outside of long-term care.
There may be a need to further prioritize within each tier based on the demand for vaccines and community needs specific to McHenry County, according to the release said. The local health department will continue to keep county residents informed about the availability of COVID-19 vaccines as their supply.
“Even after receiving the vaccine, we will still need to continue to wear a mask and socially distance until we can achieve herd immunity,” Karras said in the release. “We encourage everyone to receive the vaccine as soon as it is made available to you. It will take many months to get enough of our population vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. We can finally say there is an end in sight, but it will take patience.”
The McHenry County health department also announced Thursday updates to its COVID-19 quarantine protocols.
The agency is now advising that adults who are known close contacts of COVID-19-positive individuals can be released from quarantine after 10 days if they have not shown symptoms of the virus and may return to work or post-secondary education under certain conditions.
That allowance is a decrease from the recommended quarantine period for adults from 14 days after close contact with a COVID-19 case. It applies only to work or post-secondary schooling.
While the state health department and federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are allowing close contacts of the virus to release from quarantine and return to school or work by using a testing-based strategy at day seven of isolation, the McHenry County agency will not be allowing early release from quarantine or returns to work or school under those conditions, according to the release.
The local health department also does not allow individuals to test out of quarantine, according to the release. It is declining to adopt the seven-day testing-based strategy because of high community transmission in the county and due to the turn-around time for molecular tests for the virus.
Right now, results are not likely available until at least 11 days since the last exposure, based on when a person is allowed to get tested following exposure, the release said.
“You are still at some risk of post-exposure transmission until after 14 days, so you will need to strictly monitor yourself for any new symptoms, wear a mask and maintain a 6-foot distance from others while at work or in your classes. If you develop symptoms after day 10, it is important that you isolate and get yourself tested to prevent the spread of the virus,” Karras said in the release.