Harvard area is least vaccinated in McHenry County, new data shows

COVID-19 vaccination rates in Harvard and Hebron lagged far behind most of McHenry County, new ZIP code-level data shows, alarming some local officials.

The data led some leaders to question if more resources should be devoted to the northwest part of the county. In particular, they wondered whether a more consistent and publicly run vaccination site needs to be set up there.

Overall, just over 50% of McHenry County residents were fully vaccinated as of Friday, but the data obtained by the Shaw Local News Network through a Freedom of Information Act request shows that the rates vary substantially across the county.

While the Huntley ZIP code, with its 28,600 residents, had the highest proportion of fully vaccinated residents at more than 60% as of July 18, only 34% of Harvard’s ZIP code, with about 13,700 residents, had been fully vaccinated. The ZIP code that includes Hebron sat at 34.4% for its estimated 2,088 residents.

The Northwest Herald calculated these rates using 2019 American Community Survey population estimates published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Harvard’s comparatively low vaccination rate is “definitely an issue,” 1st Ward Alderman Jay Schulz said, adding that he is vaccinated.

The Union and Wonder Lake ZIP codes were the only others in the county with rates below 40% as of July 18.

[ To see a map of the entire state of Illinois, click here. ]

Harvard Mayor Michael Kelly said two demographics fall within his city’s ZIP code, which includes the northwestern corner of McHenry County, that have been challenging to convince to get vaccinated.

The area has a significant percent of Hispanic residents – just under half of the city of Harvard’s residents were Hispanic or Latino, according to 2019 census data.

The Hispanic population has been less eager for shots across Illinois than other groups, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report that shows the percentage of vaccinations going to Hispanics in the state is lower than the demographic’s makeup of the total population, even as it was more likely to have COVID-19 cases and deaths from them than other groups.

The Harvard area is also very rural, especially outside the city limits, where conservative political ideologies are more likely to steer individual decision-making on the vaccine.

Multiple polls this year have found Republicans are less willing to take a vaccine against COVID-19 than Democrats, and Kelly thinks the virus has been politicized, which has led to a greater hesitancy to get shots among some conservative residents surrounding and in Harvard.

The ZIP code that includes Harvard also saw the highest rate of positive COVID-19 cases per capita with about 117 cases for every 1,000 residents, according to a Northwest Herald analysis using Illinois Department of Public Health case counts and Census Bureau population estimates.

“Certainly Hispanics and Latinos seem more hesitant to embrace vaccination,” said Kelly, who is vaccinated. “Some have politicized the whole vaccination and pandemic. There is a heavy amount of political sentiment in the western part of McHenry County that doesn’t believe in it. I’m not sure how you can get people to change their minds.”

But both he and Schulz said they think the vaccination rate would be higher in their area if more regularly scheduled, walk-in vaccination clinics were available.

So far, such an option has not been established in Harvard, with clinics occurring on a limited number of dates and not on a weekly or biweekly basis, local officials said.

“I think it could help,” Schulz said.

Kelly said some Harvard-area residents have fewer transportation options to the McHenry mass vaccination site or the McHenry County Department of Health offices in Crystal Lake and Woodstock, where vaccine clinics are being offered.

County health officials used the Harvard Moose Family Center to perform vaccinations once in the spring and came back to do another round of vaccinations one other time several weeks after the initial clinic, said Tom Slater, a volunteer for the local Moose organization. They have not returned to the space to do more shots.

The lodge is ready, willing and able to host more vaccine clinics if the health department requests to use it again, Slater said. The time slots would be limited to Monday through Thursday and some Fridays, as the lodge has resumed some of its activities and rentals.

“We’d be more than happy to work with them if they contact us,” Slater said.

Kelly said the city in May also offered the county health department a newly constructed city police and community hall facility that could hold up to 60 people as a place to do vaccinations and that offer still stands.

“I think some people would feel more comfortable with it from the health department versus going into, say, Walmart,” Kelly said.

McHenry County health department officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week, nor a detailed list of questions from the Northwest Herald about the variance in vaccination rates between ZIP codes in the county and its strategy for vaccinating Harvard-area residents.

McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler, a Republican, said county officials are aware of Harvard’s lagging inoculation rate and are working to combat it, including by recently sending direct mailings with information about the vaccines to county households, particularly in the Harvard area.

“I think we’ve been addressing the problem since before the vaccine even came out. We thought there would be possible concern there,” said Buehler, who declined to say whether he’s been vaccinated against COVID-19.

He said he hopes to further coordinate with Harvard’s religious organizations to help provide information and access to vaccines in the community.

“I would imagine if the county health department thought the demand was there [in Harvard], they would have an additional clinic. Maybe there will be one the future. I would certainly welcome additional outreach to the Harvard area to reach those people,” Buehler said.

He said he plans on speaking with McHenry County health department Director Melissa Adamson this week about the Harvard leadership’s belief that another publicly run clinic available twice a month or weekly in the city could draw people who still want a vaccine and boost the area’s immunity.

The county health department has hired a firm to help with its messaging to the community to combat vaccine hesitancy, according to internal communication records obtained from the agency by the Northwest Herald.

Low rates of vaccination were being seen among the county’s Black population, according to a June 17 email sent by McHenry County Director of Public Health Nursing Susan Karras, and officials needed assistance identifying how to reach that population because they knew of no community organizations specifically serving the group.

“The vaccination rates among the Hispanic population have increased considerably and currently in line with the non-Hispanic population,” Karras said in the same email last month, which also noted rates for people older than 65 locally are high, as they are across the state.

While Harvard leaders said adding another local shot option could make it more convenient for their residents and therefore more desirable to get vaccinated, Hebron Village President Robert Shelton, who said he carries proof of his vaccination on him, said he thinks the availability and locations of shots is not the main barrier to higher rates in the northwest part of the county.

He pointed to the fact that the shots are free and are being offered in retail pharmacies such as Walgreens and in major grocery chains across McHenry County. He said he was surprised to learn his village’s ZIP code was among the lowest in the county in terms of its inoculation rate.

Shelton said he thinks there is a contingent of the local population that will never be persuaded to take a vaccine against COVID-19 and others who have refused so far but could be swayed by health officials, local governments and community organizations continuing to advertise and promote the availability, free cost, safety and efficacy of the vaccines at preventing severe cases of COVID-19.

He said health authorities should stay the course with their messaging and thinks more will start to slowly get vaccinated.

“I myself think it’s the right thing to do to get the flu shot and get the COVID-19 vaccination, no question. But again, it is an individual choice,” Shelton said. “I do not see that we have any issues that are alarming or anything that would cause alarm at this moment, as far as outbreaks, problems, other than our ZIP code is low [with its vaccination rate] at the moment.”

Other groups, such as the Crystal Lake-based nonprofit Illinois Migrant Council, along with regional health care providers, including Northwestern Medicine and Mercyhealth, have continued to provide vaccine opportunities for their clients, patients and others who need shots throughout the county.

The Illinois Migrant Council earlier this month vaccinated 24 people at the Harvard Moose lodge during a clinic held during late afternoon and evening hours and has been working with employers to try to get workers in factories, restaurants and other essential positions inoculated, CEO and President Maggie Rivera said. That has included holding clinics at midnight and in the early hours of the morning for third-shift workers.

“The majority of Latinos are front-line workers,” Rivera said. “They work in the industries that were still running like factories, restaurants, hotels, landscaping. They don’t have the benefits such as sick days, personal days, vacations they can take to go get the vaccines. Some of them have multiple jobs, and employers are not giving them the opportunity.”

“One of the things we are always stressing is you pretty much have to be available when people are available,” she said. “That means weekends and after 4 p.m.”

Her group is trying to bring vaccines to workplaces when possible, as well as to help promote the shots among young people. She said the group has near-term plans to give away backpacks full of school supplies while offering shots to students and families.

Mercyhealth, which serves northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin and operates a hospital in Harvard, did not respond to an inquiry about its vaccination efforts in Harvard specifically, but said in a written statement that it has administered thousands of shots over the past few months.

“We are working through our primary care physician offices to ensure our patients have the option to get their vaccination. We also provide community vaccination clinics at a variety of events held across our service area,” Mercyhealth Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Dorsey said through a spokeswoman. “With COVID-19 cases on the rise, now is the time to get our unvaccinated population vaccinated.”

Northwestern Medicine said demand for vaccines is down considerably from where it was earlier in the year and has transitioned its vaccinations into immediate care centers as a result.

“Since the community demand for vaccines slowed, we’ve shifted our efforts to individual conversations with patients during outpatient clinic visits and inpatient hospital stays,” Northwestern spokeswoman Michelle Green said in an email. “We continue to educate patients about the importance of vaccinations, and we encourage community members to get the vaccine. The concern about low vaccination rates reaches far beyond McHenry County – it’s a challenge for every community across the country.”

Staff writer Katie Finlon contributed reporting.