DuPage & Will Counties Receive COVID-19 Vaccines

DuPage & Will Counties Receive COVID-19 Vaccines
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Today, the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD) and the Will County Health Department (WCHD) received their first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

DuPage County & Will County

“This is the day we’ve been waiting for since the pandemic began. The vaccine brings new, tangible hope to DuPage County as we receive the first of many shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine,” said DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin.

DuPage County partnered with DuPage Medical Group (DMG) to house 13,650 vaccine doses at their facility, in the ultra cold storage required for the vaccine.

Will County received more than 4,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine,  which was recently authorized for distribution by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week.

Both counties will be distributing the Pfizer vaccine first to hospitals and healthcare sites within each county.

“We have been preparing for months with our local health systems to distribute approved vaccines for emergency and critical care staff,” said Sam Tornatore, DuPage County Board of Health President. “This first delivery of vaccine is the result of tireless work from our public health officials, health systems, law enforcement, the state, and everyone who has helped achieve this historical event.”

Distribution Takes Time

DuPage County health officials estimate that it will take several weeks to have vaccines for the approximately 43,000 healthcare workers in the county. Sue Olenek, executive director of the Will County Health Department, echoed that distribution will take time.

“This has been a long road for all of us, and now we enter into the next stage of our fight against COVID-19,” said Olenek.  “It is great to have the vaccine out and being distributed, but it will take a long time before the general public is vaccinated.  That means we must continue to wear our masks properly, be aware of social distancing, and avoid large groups and gatherings, especially during the coming Christmas and New Year’s holidays. As we move through the various phases of the vaccination process we ask for the public to educate themselves and be patient.”

Naperville’s Edward Hospital will getting their vaccines tomorrow according to Keith Hartenberger, a spokesman for the hospital. The hospital is set to receive 1,950 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.

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