Health officials outline coronavirus vaccine plan for suburban Cook County

Israel Rocha, CEO of Cook County Health, joins Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and others to address the details of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan for suburban Cook County. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

As the new COVID-19 vaccine is distributed across the country, officials in the Cook County Department of Health on Monday detailed how initial doses will be doled out to suburban county residents.

“Health equity is at the core of our organization’s mission,” Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha said. “We are confident in our ability to develop a comprehensive plan to bring the vaccines to our employees, our patients and the community.”

The first batch of vaccine — about 20,000 doses — will go to 15 hospitals, according to county officials. Each hospital will decide how to allocate those doses among employees who are at the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19. Additional doses are expected to be delivered weekly.

The vaccine requires two doses to take effect, and the county health officials aim to have the first round completed by Dec. 24.

And while the vaccine is not mandatory for county health employees, Rocha said, the overwhelming majority of employees have signaled they would receive it.

After frontline health care workers, staff and residents of long-term care facilities and emergency medical professionals would be next in line, according to the county.

First responders, teachers, utility and transportation workers and high-risk adults would be the next groups eligible for the vaccine. Once the vaccine is more widely available to suburban Cook County residents, it will be available at hospitals, pharmacies, Cook County Health sites, a well as mobile and drive-thru sites.

Dr. Kiran Joshi looks on as Dr. Rachel Rubin, (left) co-lead and senior medical officer for the Cook County Department of Public Health, addresses the details of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan for suburban Cook County.

“We want everybody to have the opportunity and have equitable access to the vaccine,” said Dr. Rachel Rubin, one of the developers of the county’s vaccine rollout plan. “We want everybody to be vaccinated, ultimately.”

Myths and misinformation pose some of the largest challenges in maximizing the vaccine’s effectiveness, Rubin said.

“It’s a tough road to dispel those myths about the vaccine or to, at least, decrease peoples’ anxiety about it,” she said.

Asked how the county plans to confront misinformation about the vaccine, Rubin said county health officials will push out their message via social media but also partner with existing health organizations to quell fears and ease concerns.

“The idea is to work on the ground with partners that serve and are part of the communities throughout the suburban area to be resources and vaccine champions for providing appropriate information,” Rubin said.

Nurturing and encouraging public buy-in is paramount, Rocha added.

“Success of the overall effort requires more than public health training and preparedness,” he said. “It requires us, collectively, to build confidence among those same employees, patients and communities that this vaccine is safe.”