All Will County residents over age 16 eligible for vaccine as county opens scheduling online April 12

Residents urged to schedule vaccine and practice COVID-19 safety as Will County COVID-19 cases rise in past two weeks.

JOLIET  - Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and Will County Health Department Executive Director Sue Olenek announced today that the health department will move to open scheduling on Monday, April 12, as Will County moves to universal eligibility for individuals 16 and older.

“As we move into universal eligibility, we want to provide direct access to Will County residents to schedule online and are adding additional vaccine appointments,” said Bertino-Tarrant. “Between the state clinics and our clinics, we will be able to deliver nearly 4,000 vaccinations per day in Will County.”

Will County residents will no longer have to register with the health department to schedule a vaccine.  All registered residents have been invited to schedule their appointment over the past two weeks.  They will still receive updates from the Health Department to keep informed about the progress the county is making each week.

“We have made tremendous progress over the past three weeks, adding three new vaccine locations in Joliet, Wilmington and Monee as we received more vaccines from the state,” said Olenek. “By removing the registration process, we can provide greater access to available appointments for our residents.”

The Will County Health Department supports five vaccination sites:

·         Will County Health Department, 501 Ella Ave., Joliet;

·         Former Toys R Us, 3128 Voyager Lane, Joliet;

·         Joliet West High School, run by Joliet Fire Department, 401 N. Larkin Ave.,  Joliet;

·         St. Rose School, 626 S. Kankakee St, Wilmington;

·         Vaccine clinic, 6370 Emerald Parkway, Monee.

There are 60 additional locations in Will County that are providing vaccine appointments, including Walgreens, Jewel-Osco, Meijer, Mariano’s, Oak Street Health, and Aunt Martha’s.  All locations can be found at www.willcountyhealth.org.

As of Friday, April 9, Will County had delivered 321,714 first-dose vaccines and 116,551 people have been fully vaccinated. That represents 16% of the Will County population.

“As we open up the scheduling, I want to encourage everyone to schedule your vaccine and to keep practicing safe measures including wearing your masks,” said Bertino-Tarrant. “We are seeing a rise in COVID-19 positivity tests and an uptick in hospitalizations.”

Will County is at a 5.5% positivity rate on a seven-day rolling average which has been increasing over the past two weeks.

“Vaccine availability has to be accompanied by COVID-19 safety measures to prevent another wave of COVID-19 cases and deaths,” said Olenek.

Will County vaccination sites can be accessed online at www.willcountyhealth.org and can also be scheduled through a dedicated vaccine appointment hotline for those who do not have internet access. The hotline, (815) 774-7386, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"The COVID-19 vaccine is one of the most powerful tools we can use to win this battle and bring an end to the pandemic," said Bertino-Tarrant.  "We now have more sites than ever before, and we are working diligently to make sure underserved communities and those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 have access to the vaccine."  

For complete information, visit www.willcountyhealth.org.