Mass Vax clinics in southern Illinois preparing to close

JACKSON COUNTY (WSIL) -- Mass Vaccination operations in our region are preparing to close as Jackson County Health Department reports more than 30% of its 16-to-65 year-olds inoculated with one, or both doses.

Williamson County is near that with 26%, both departments are now preparing exit strategies by the middle of May.

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Health officials say vaccination clinics are available in more locations, alleviating the need of mass vaccination sites, which are seeing a reduction in participants.

Jackson County Health Department consolidated its two Carbondale clinics last week, closing the Civic Center site and preparing to close the Banterra Center site in three-to-four weeks. Before closing, the Civic Center site vaccinated around 250 people a day; currently, the Banterra Center is seeing around 200 a day.

Illinois National Guard members played a large role in Carbondale's vaccinations efforts, providing personnel to help with operations. First Lieutenant Anthony Kurien says, now those teams are starting to shift operations.

"We've definately had good turnouts in the past couple of months to the Civic Center when it was operating, as well as the Banterra Center," says Kurien, Officer in Charge of Carbondale Vaccination Team. "Our efforts are now going more towards the mobile teams."

Those mobile teams serve all of Region 5 with the Illinois Department of Public Health, and are partnered closely with Southern Seven Health Department where vaccination rates are at their lowest.

"We go to different community centers for example, or different hospitals, or different multi-purpose areas where we set up a temporary vaccine clinic and we administer vaccines in that general area," explains Kurien.

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Opportunities for vaccinations are on the rise as locations increase, such as local pharmacies, and clinics, say Health Officials, but not everyone has access, which is where Mobile Teams step in.

"A lot of these places are in rural parts of southern Illinois as well as underserved communities," says Kurien. "Mobile teams are really great at going to these parts and giving the vaccines to these places where it's sometimes hard to get."

Health Officials in both Jackson and Williamson Counties are encouraging people to take advantage of the "easy access" Mass Vaccination sites provide while they're still open.