McHenry County Department of Health launches COVID-19 call center

The McHenry County Department of Health on Wednesday announced that it launched a COVID-19 call center that aims to connect McHenry County residents to vaccine resources and assist them in completing the online enrollment process.

Residents who have general questions about the COVID-19 vaccine also are encouraged to call, according to a news release.

“We have put in place a resource to reduce barriers for residents in accessing accurate information about available COVID-19 vaccines,” Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson said in a statement. “The COVID-19 Call Center is supported with translation services so anyone, regardless of the language they speak, can call for help with enrollment.”

Residents can call the center at 815-334- 4045 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Seniors in Phase 1a and Phase 1b currently are being vaccinated at McHenry County health department clinics. Links to these clinics are shared weekly.

Emails that receive the links are selected at random, according to the release. Those who have enrolled online and received a confirmation email are in the system.

Because of limited vaccine supply, clinics are only scheduled one week in advance, and based upon vaccine allotments received, according to the release.

To help residents become aware of vaccine opportunities in McHenry County, the health department also launched a COVID-19 vaccine locator page. People can visit the page at bit.ly/MCDHFindVaccine.

The page will be updated as new locations are added.

In addition, the state of Illinois is partnering with retail pharmacies such as Walgreens and Jewel-Osco to provide COVID-19 vaccinations.

Information about where and how to schedule an appointment with these pharmacies is available at coronavirus.Illinois.gov.

Regional hospitals also are inviting patients who are 65 and older to receive the vaccine.

“As local, state, and federal partnerships and vaccine supply increase we anticipate more opportunities for residents to obtain a vaccination and encourage everyone 65 and older to take the first available appointment they can schedule,” Adamson said.

Information about enrolling for a COVID-19 vaccine is available at bit.ly/MCDHCovidVaccine.