Pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Woodstock targeted agricultural, manufacturer workers in addition to those 65 and older

Nearly 600 COVID-19 vaccines were administered this past Saturday in Woodstock through a collaboration of community organizations and the Illinois Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force targeting agricultural and manufacturer workers as well as seniors, organizers said.

The IDPH Center for Minority Health Services is working with local health departments and community organizations across the state to set up vaccination clinics for those who may not otherwise get vaccinated, IDPH spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said.

The free clinic was held at the Woodstock Opera House at Mayor Brian Sager’s request. The clinic was a one-day event and required pre-registration, but walk-ins were welcome. Of the 588 Pfizer vaccines administered, 88 were walk-ins.

The doses administered Saturday were separate from the vaccines the McHenry County Department of Health is provided by the state, Illinois Migrant Council CEO and President Maggie Rivera said.

“Every town is different [but] how those vaccines become available to walk-ins is when we have people register and then don’t show up,” Rivera said.

Rivera was largely responsible for organizing the clinic in Woodstock and many others around the state. She began the pop-up clinic sites back in Feb. 6 and administered over 5,000 vaccines.

“The Illinois Migrant Council, the community health partnership, [Illinois Department of Human Services] and Prism Health Lab have come together and joined forces to do the best that we can to go out there and vaccinate as many people as we can,” Rivera said.

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Nearly 600 COVID-19 vaccines were administered Saturday, March 13, 2021, at the Woodstock Opera House through a collaboration of community organizations and the Illinois Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force targeting agricultural and manufacturer workers as well as seniors, organizers said. (Provided by Maggie Rivera)

The organizations also do outreach to individuals unable to leave their homes and arrange for someone to go give them their vaccine at home.

In addition to state-supported mass vaccination sites around the state, Illinois also is deploying mobile teams to various communities, Arnold said.

“Mobile teams have been deployed in Vermilion, McLean, Grundy, Rock Island, Fayette and Shelby counties with more on the way,” said Arnold.

Those that received their first dose of vaccine on March 13 will take their second dose on April 3 at the Woodstock Recreation Center. March 21 will be the first day the team will administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Springfield, Rivera said.

The team administers vaccines in a different location every day working seven days a week. They administer both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. For information on where the next clinic site is, contact Rivera at mrivera@illinoismigrant.org or 815-995-0300.

“If anybody has questions or a referral call me, my phone number is kind of like 911,” Rivera said.