GLADSTONE, Ill. — In the small town of Gladstone, Illinois - population 300 - an old middle school is home to Henderson County's Health Department. It's there, that the county runs their weekly vaccine clinic. Without it, there wouldn't be many options for the county's residents.
"For what a small county Henderson County is, I'm very proud of our people... for coming out and realizing that they do need to be vaccinated," said Angela Myers, the county health department's administrator.
As of Tuesday morning, Myers reported 1,179 people in Henderson County with their first dose, and 759 of those with their second.
"So we've got 5.32% of people vaccinated in Henderson County - fully vaccinated," she said.
That percentage is one of the lowest in the region and about half of the equivalent population of fully vaccinated people in Rock Island County. But in a county of about 6,700 people, there's more to that number than just low population.
"We have a lot of older people that either live alone or don't drive," explained Myers. The struggle to vaccinate many of that population has been ongoing, with her team even making house visits to deliver doses.
"We have home health and hospice and we have taken shots out to them and got half of them fully vaccinated," said Myers. "The older people have waited for this for a long time and we get so many comments of thanking us for doing this and being there for them. We're trying to do what we can to keep people safe."
The county also faces issues that come with being so rural. The health department's weekly clinic is the only way many residents can receive their doses, as the nearest pharmacies are across state lines in Burlington, Iowa, or a 45-minute drive away to Galesburg, Illinois.
Henderson County has to wait for Moderna shipments, as they don't have the necessary freezers to store the Pfizer vaccine in ultra-cold temperatures.
And staff are in short supply in the area. The county's health department only has 30 workers, but about 20 of them are busy out in the field working as RNs and homemakers. Consequently, the clinics can only be two or three hours long.
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Still, Myers says her team has weathered the challenges as best they could, and are still getting shots in arms - even if it's at a slower pace than some neighboring counties. And she says they're taking extra steps, like making house visits, to help close the gap.
"I think we've got a good rollout and we have a good system," she said. "We did put the form that they have to fill out for first-time shots on the website. So they can print it off and already have it filled out, which helps a lot."
The health department is also not requiring those in need of a second dose to sign up online again. Instead, the county gives each person a call when it's time for them to come back in for a second shot.
"Everybody says we're very efficient so they don't have to wait very long," laughed Myers. "But we want to keep them safe - that's the main thing."
She explained that when the clinics began, the county had a list of 900 people who wanted to be vaccinated. By the end of Wednesday morning, on March 17, she's hopeful that list will finally be done, and the county can move on to the next group of vulnerable residents.
And some more good news came in the form of teachers. Myers reported that they completely vaccinated 90 of the county's educators by the second week of March. Those are the teachers who opted to receive the shots, and comprises almost all of the county's educators.
Henderson County's health department will be hosting walk-in opportunities for Henderson residents 55-year-old or up, or those with underlying health conditions, on Wednesday, March 17 from 10-11am, and again on Saturday, March 27.
Otherwise for those who would like to sign up for an appointment, you can find the portal on the county health department's website.