At the start of April, the group of Illinois residents with the highest coronavirus case count were those in their 20s. Over the past month, cases among those ages 18-24 have doubled, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
It’s with that in mind that the health department is launching “College Vaccination Days” — appointments set aside this weekend and next week at mass vaccination sites for college students.
“Our young adults have a key role to play in bringing this pandemic to an end,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. “Getting vaccinated is about protecting yourself, but it’s also about protecting your professors, your parents, your peers, campus staff, and the greater community you call home.”
Colleges and universities will have specific links where students can register for an appointment, according to the health department. Those appointments will be available Saturday through Tuesday at sites throughout Adams, Kane, Madison, Sangamon, St. Clair, Winnebago, Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Lake and Will counties.
Champaign County — home of the University of Illinois, the largest college in the state — was not on the list because there is no state-supported mass vaccination site near the school, health officials said.
Vaccination sites in DeKalb, McDonough and McLean counties are already providing vaccinations to students as part of the state’s rapid response vaccination teams deployed to areas seeing increasing cases.
College students and young adults have been blamed across the country for some recent spikes in cases. The University of Chicago in Hyde Park issued a stay-at-home order and temporarily halted in-person classes last week after a cluster of 50 COVID-19 cases involving undergraduates.
“Many of these cases may have been connected to one or more parties held by off-campus fraternities over the last week,” the school said at the time.
Positivity and hospitalization rates in the state have ticked up over the last two weeks. In the 20-county region that stretches from Kendall and Grundy counties to the Quad Cities, the seven-day average of available ICU beds has dipped below 20%.
All mass vaccination locations will be administering either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as the use of the Johnson & Johnson “one-shot” vaccine has been paused due to concern over a seemingly rare clotting side effect. Students who get their first vaccine dose during the college days event will be able to make an appointment for the second, the IDPH says.
charjohnson@chicagotribune.com
