Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday that the Illinois National Guard will be deployed to the Lake County Fairgrounds to help bolster coronavirus vaccination efforts at the site, while a mobile vaccination team will now assist health officials in McHenry County to boost numbers there.
The announcement was made in a press release Thursday.
“Illinois has built a robust vaccination infrastructure that has allowed to get vaccine doses out to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible,” said Governor JB Pritzker in a statement. “A significant aspect of that plan is our Illinois National Guard state-supported vaccination sites, and I’m proud to make these locations even more accessible to residents of McHenry and Lake Counties. With more than 4 million doses of vaccine administered in the state, Illinois is getting the job done, and I encourage all residents to get vaccinated when it is your turn and help us bring this pandemic to an end.”
According to the press release, mobile vaccination teams are now operating in several Chicago-area counties, including DeKalb, McHenry and Cook counties. Teams are also on the ground in Grundy and Winnebago counties to help distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Nearly 1,400 National Guard members are currently assisting with COVID-19 response in the state.
“We are pleased to welcome the Illinois National Guard to Lake County to enhance the capacity we’ve been building over the last several months, Lake County Health Department Director Mark Pfister said in a statement.
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