New McHenry site in could up county's vaccination capability to 1,000 doses an hour

The city of McHenry donated a "really large facility" to the McHenry County Department of Health that can be used to increase the county's vaccination capability up to 1,000 doses an hour, public health administrator Melissa Adamson told the county board Tuesday.

The new site will come online next week when the city officially hands over the keys to the building, giving the health department the space needed to significantly expand its clinics, Adamson said. While 1,000 doses an hour may seem like a big jump, she said, it is possible.

"We are ready to vaccinate at this level as soon as vaccine supply opens up and becomes available to us," she said in the meeting Tuesday.

When more than 4,000 McHenry County teachers were vaccinated last week, the two all-day clinics provided vaccines at a rate of 200 people an hour, just one-fifth of the rate Adamson projected for the new site in McHenry, according to numbers provided by Adamson and Huntley Unit District 158 Superintendent Scott Rowe.

For the time being, however, the number of first doses available to McHenry County residents will be significantly reduced as Illinois focuses its vaccine shipments on providing the necessary second doses to those who are due to receive it, Adamson said.

"The next three weeks, our focus is going to be on second doses for those in the (Phase) 1a and the (Phase) 1b who have already been vaccinated," she said. "Our first dose supply, though, over the next three weeks is expected to be lower ... so we are going to be getting around 900 doses for first vaccines each week for the next three weeks."

County residents 65 and older will be prioritized to receive those 900 doses available each week, Adamson said.

McHenry County has administered doses to 20.7% of McHenry County's 65 and older population, according to Illinois Department of Public Health data as of Tuesday. That puts it 11th to last among the state's 102 counties and last among the collar counties.

This statewide emphasis on second doses was announced Sunday in a news release from the Illinois Department of Public Health, which said those who are due for their second dose need to be prioritized so they receive both doses within the required time period. The required time between doses is 21 days for the Pfizer vaccine and 28 days for Moderna.

The number of first doses made available to Illinois counties is expected to increase again in March, according to the release.

Also in Tuesday's meeting, McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler said he would reach out to Gov. J.B. Pritzker to request more vaccine doses for the county.