On Tuesday, March 2, President Biden promised enough COVID-19 vaccines for the entire U.S. adult population by the end of May. Also on Tuesday, Sangamon County announced the mass vaccination site on the Illinois State Fairgrounds now plans to distribute up to 1,100 doses daily, nearly double its previous daily capacity. Hours have been expanded to 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. The site operates only by appointment. Individuals in phase 1a, 1b or 1b+ qualify. That includes health care personnel, long-term care residents and staff, essential workers such as those who work in factories or grocery stores, teachers, people aged 65 and older and those 16 and older who have disabilities or underlying high-risk conditions that aren’t covered in previous categories. A county spokesperson told The State Journal-Register that as of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, “about 3,300 first-dose appointments had been booked out of the 10,000 additional first-dose appointments made available” by a vaccine shipment on Monday. Registration for appointments, when available, at either the fairgrounds site or the Sangamon County Department of Public Health clinic, 2833 S. Grand Ave. E., can be made at scdph.org or by calling 217-210-8801.
This article appears in Springfields man on Capitol Hill.
