Over 12,500 Lake County Education Staff and Childcare Workers Vaccinated for COVID-19 through Health Department and Schools Partnership

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For Immediate Release
Date: March 19, 2021

Over 12,500 Lake County Education Staff and Childcare Workers Vaccinated for COVID-19 through Health Department and Schools Partnership

Lake County, Ill. — The Lake County Health Department is celebrating its partnership with 45 Lake County public school districts to vaccinate over 12,500 private and public education staff and childcare workers in just two months.

In early February, Adlai E. Stevenson High School and Round Lake High School opened vaccination sites for public and private Pre-K through 12th grade staff, which later opened to group childcare workers. Over 17,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered at the school vaccination sites so far.

After Friday, April 2, 2021, the two schools will temporarily pause vaccination efforts. However, they may reopen once vaccines are approved for school-age children, which may occur as early as the summer or fall of this year.

“Vaccinating Lake County’s public and private school education staff and childcare workers has been a priority of our department because of the exposure risks in these settings and the heavy burdens that working families have had to carry throughout this pandemic,” said Mark Pfister, Executive Director at the Lake County Health Department. “We are extremely grateful to the leadership of Adlai E. Stevenson High School and Round Lake High School for their continued partnership, stepping up to the plate to help us vaccinate thousands of Pre-K through 12th grade staff and childcare workers in Lake County.”

By the final date of operations on April 2, it is expected that 25,000 doses will have been administered between the two schools. Both schools have generously offered the equipment from their vaccination sites to be used at other Lake County vaccination sites during the pause.

“We are grateful to have had the opportunity to make Round Lake High School available for school districts and other areas of the county to receive their vaccine; playing a small part in the monumental process of getting through this pandemic,” said Donn Mendoza, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools for District 116. “This takes us another step closer to making in-person learning available to children across the county.”

Pre-K through 12th Grade school teachers, staff, and group childcare workers (in facilities with DCFS license or DCFS license-exempt documentation*) who live or work in Lake County and have not yet been vaccinated should sign up on the AllVax system, https://AllVax.lakecohealth.org, following these instructions:

  • Select the ‘Frontline essential worker’ category
  • Select the appropriate Essential Worker Industry – either ‘Lake County Pre-K through 12th Grade’ or ‘Child Group Day Care’.
  • After registration, you will be notified by email how to schedule an appointment at the school vaccination sites, with appointments available through April 2, 2021.
  • *You must provide proof of eligibility at the vaccination site. For more details on eligibility and documentation needed, please visit lakecountyil.gov/vaccine.
  • Second dose appointments for educators will be offered at the Lake County Fairgrounds starting April 3, 2021.

“We are deeply grateful to the Lake County Health Department for their steady leadership during this unprecedented time, especially as they continue with the herculean task of vaccinating all of Lake County,” said Dr. Eric Twadell, Superintendent of District 125 - Stevenson High School. “Our partnership with them has been integral to our work on safely bringing students, faculty and staff back to campuses around Lake County as soon as possible. We are proud to be able to contribute to this effort by serving as a vaccination site for educators and look forward to seeing normalcy restored in our community soon.”

 

Additional Information

As of March 17, 2021, over 212,687 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Lake County residents. At least 76,323 Lake County residents, or 10.89% of the county’s population, are fully vaccinated. Over 91,218 doses have been administered among residents ages 65 and older and over 60% of Lake County seniors have received at least one dose. Lake County is averaging 5,264 doses administered daily on a 7-day rolling average.

Lake County and partners continue to vaccinate those eligible in Phase 1b, including seniors age 65 and older and frontline essential workers, as well as remaining residents eligible in Phase 1a such as healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities and other congregate settings. Pharmacies and other providers which receive their vaccine supply from the state or federal government are also vaccinating people eligible in Phase 1b plus, which includes those age 16-64 with high risk medical conditions and those with disabilities.

While vaccine supply continues to be limited across the United States and the world, the Lake County Health Department encourages residents to explore their options for COVID-19 vaccination and take the first available appointment when eligible. There are four ways to access the vaccine:

  1. Registering in AllVax by visiting https://AllVax.lakecohealth.org or calling (847) 377-8130. Those who register will be notified when an appointment is available at a Lake County Health Department vaccination site. Registrants can also opt-in and consent to allow the Health Department to securely share registration information with local vaccination partners to open up additional vaccination opportunities;
  2. Using the Illinois Vaccine Locator that lists pharmacies and other public sites or calling the new Illinois Vaccine Appointment Call Center at (833) 621-1284, which is open 7 days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight;
  3. Checking with their health system (i.e. hospital system or healthcare provider group) for registration and availability – most systems are reaching out to their existing patients and cannot accommodate people calling to inquire about appointments at this time; and
  4. Finding Community Vaccination Sites that are opening and are listed on the Health Department website as they become available.

 

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General Public: COVID19@lakecountyil.gov
AllVax Support: AllVax@lakecountyil.gov / (847) 377-8130
News Media Email: COVIDmedia@lakecountyil.gov

News Media Phone: (847) 377-2001


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Lake County Health Department
3010 Grand Avenue
Waukegan, Illinois 60085
(847) 377-8000