DeKalb County will open a vaccination site in the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center next week with help from the Illinois National Guard, state officials announced Friday.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state hopes the added resources will help expand vaccinations in DeKalb County, in addition to other new sites in Vermillion County.
"I’m proud to deploy Illinois National Guard teams and additional state resources to Vermillion and DeKalb counties to ensure local residents are able to receive their vaccines as efficiently and equitably as possible," Pritzker said in a statement. "One in five Illinoisans have already received their first dose of vaccine, and as the federal government prepares to increase Illinois' deliveries to over 100,000 a day in the coming weeks, IDPH and our 97 local health departments are prepared to meet the moment. In the meantime, I encourage all Illinoisans to wear their masks and stay vigilant as we power through to the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic."
The sites will open next week in DeKalb and Danville, officials said. Once open, each location can administer up to 270 doses per day, depending on vaccine availability. DeKalb's location is expected to open Wednesday, according to the state.
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According to the state, the three sites will be open to eligible residents "who live or work in the designated counties."
| Opens | Location | Address | Appointment | Max dose capability (when vaccines are available) |
| Mar 15 | Danville Community College | 2000 E. Main Street, Danville IL | https://vchd.org/ | 270 |
| Mar 15 | Vermilion Regional Airport | 22633 N. Bowman Avenue, Danville IL | https://vchd.org/ | 270 |
| Mar 17 | NIU Convocation Center | 1525 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb, IL | https://health.dekalbcounty.org/about/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccination/ | 270 |
“Local planning and partnerships with NIU have allowed the Health Department to offer several vaccine opportunities for community members. To date, we have been limited with the number of vaccine available for our community, but we know the space allows for capacity of the clinics to expand as we anticipate receiving additional vaccine. We welcome the National Guard to our community to help scale-up our vaccination efforts as vaccine increases in our County,” DeKalb County Public Health Administrator Lisa Gonzalez said in a statement.
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For a look at how to sign-up for vaccinations in Illinois click here.
Currently, there are more than 900 vaccination locations in Illinois open to the public, the governor's office said, noting the state "is limited by the amount of vaccine available and allocated by the federal government."
Earlier this week, a mass vaccination site opened up at Chicago's United Center as part of a federal pilot program.
Although the United Center is expected to serve people outside of Chicago's city limits as more appointments become available, appointments have so far centered on Illinois seniors and Chicagoans eligible under Phase 1B Plus of the state's rollout.
Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said on multiple occasions that shipments of COVID-19 vaccines are "set to soar" in the coming days.
