MCHD: Hopeful vaccine doses will continue to increase

Posted on March 16, 2021
Venus Whitfield receives her first dose of the Moderna vaccine at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Bloomington. (Facebook/McLean County Health Department)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – McLean County health officials reported some good news this week on the vaccine front; the county received additional doses and vaccine eligibility has expanded to the Phase 1B plus population.

“We were able to open around 5,000 appointments this week,” McLean County Health Department Administrator Jessica McKnight told WJBC’s Scott Miller. “That definitely tells you the kind of influx we saw and that is definitely a huge positive for McLean County.”

There are some vaccine appointments still available for this week. More information is available here. 

McKnight says it’s too early to tell if this volume will continue over the next few weeks, but they’re hopeful.

As for vaccine eligibility, the county is now accepting appointments for anyone in the Phase 1A, 1B, and 1B plus categories. 1B plus is anyone age 16-64 with underlying health conditions.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, over 50,000 vaccine doses have been administered in McLean County. Over 10% of the county’s population is fully vaccinated.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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