Weather delays shipment of COVID-19 vaccine to McHenry County Department of Health

The McHenry County Department of Health on Friday said it did not receive this week’s COVID-19 vaccine shipments as severe winter weather across the country disrupted distribution.

As a result of the delayed shipments, the county health department has not sent out appointment notices to registered residents and workers and will need to further prioritize second doses, according to a news release.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced earlier this week that it would focus on providing second doses to eligible residents and workers who already have received an initial shot.

As of Friday, the health department had 6,446 vaccine doses on hand. Of those, 4,060 are earmarked for community partners such as hospitals, pharmacies and community clinics.

Appointments scheduled this week are projected to use 2,160 doses, leaving only 226 doses on hand until more vaccines are delivered, according to the release.

The number of vaccines to be administered at next week’s clinics will be dependent on the number of doses the department receives, according to the release. The health department expects to send out emails to schedule next week’s appointments once it receives its vaccine allotment, meaning short notice for would-be recipients.

Those due for their second dose are encouraged to watch for links to be sent, the department said.

The short notice for appointments should be temporary if the state follows through on its promise to give more notice to local health departments.

Local health departments have been pushing for additional notice from the state regarding the number of vaccine doses they will be receiving so they can better plan area clinics and book appointments further in advance, McHenry County Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson said.

When the vaccine rollout began, local public health officials received only a couple days’ notice from the state on the vaccine supply that would be shipped to McHenry County, so the county had to quickly turn around to plan clinics and notify residents of potential appointments.

“When we’re planning the clinics for the following week, we need to know precisely how many doses we have because they don’t want to overschedule,” Adamson said.

Appointments for shots through the county health department have been fully booked within minutes of becoming available.

The state agreed to give up to three weeks’ notice about a week and a half ago, Adamson said.

That means residents who receive an internet link to sign up for a dose at a clinic hosted by the department will be given more options to reserve a time to get their shots, potentially eliminating the frustration some have felt with being given notice only days ahead of a local clinic at which they could get inoculated.

For now, the notice still will be only days in advance. Appointments available during the online sign-up process are expected to be stretched over the coming weeks.

“The notice is still short. This longer period of time should help us, assuming those shipments will match what we’re being told will be allotted to us,” Adamson said.

The McHenry County health department is continuing to focus its vaccination efforts within Phase 1b on people ages 65 and older and emergency responders based on current local supply from the state, even as the state has announced people between ages 16 and 64 with high-risk medical conditions will be moved into the second part of Phase 1b, effective Thursday.

“To be clear, we will still be providing first-dose vaccinations to our 65-and-older population,” Adamson said in the release. “It’s equally important that we get folks who’ve already had their first dose the second shot they need to be fully vaccinated.”

At least 21 days must pass between administration of the first and second doses for the Pfizer vaccine and 28 days for the Moderna vaccine.

“With the limited supplies of vaccine we’ve received in our county, we’ve had to make very difficult decisions about how to prioritize vaccine doses,” Adamson said. “Until shipments of vaccine can accommodate our needs, we will continue to prioritize people who are most at risk for severe morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19 infection, which is our 65-and-older [population], before moving on to other subgroups within [the] Phase 1b group.”

McHenry County residents who are in Phases 1a, 1b and 1c priority groups are encouraged to enroll online to receive alerts about vaccine clinics by visiting bit.ly/MCDHCovidVaccine and selecting the appropriate enrollment form. Anyone who needs assistance enrolling or is without internet can call 815-334-4045.

Appointments can be canceled by calling 815-334-4500. Those who cancel will need to wait for another link to be sent to their email to reschedule.

Links sent to register for an appointment should not be shared, and those who receive links should not double-book appointments, according to the release. Doing so can delay vaccination efforts in the county and prevent someone else from receiving the vaccine. Registering using someone else’s link will result in being turned away from receiving a vaccine at a county-run clinic.