MILAN, Ill. — At the Camden Centre in Milan, may chairs sit empty.
"We're trying to get as many people in as possible," said Janet Hill.
Hill is the chief operating officer for the Rock Island County Health Department. That office has recently seen a decrease in vaccine demand, while also seeing people only come in for a certain vaccine brand, Hill said.
"It's because there's a wider age of people that can come in for Pfizer," said Hill. "Also there are also just some people that want the one and done with Johnson and Johnson."
The vaccine clinic in Milan will close on May 29, 2021. However, it was meant to be only a temporary solution until vaccine became readily available across our region, Hill said.
The vaccine the health department would have received, though, will not go to waste, when the state of Illinois reallocates its resources.
"They're going to be sending a lot of vaccine to medical providers, so you should be able to get your vaccine in your doctor's office if you haven't been able to come to a clinic," said Hill.
Once that clinic at the Camden Centre ends, there are still ways for Rock Island County residents to receive COVID-19 vaccines, including from the health department.
Beginning on June 1, 2021, the health department will provide the Johnson and Johnson and Moderna vaccines on Tuesdays. The office will provide the Pfizer vaccine on Fridays. No appointment is needed for either day, according to health department administrators.
Those clinics will happen at the Rock Island County Health Department office.
"We are at 98,000 total doses given so I would love to see us hit 100,000 doses this week," said Hill.
About 40 percent of people in Rock Island County, ages 16 to 64, are fully vaccinated, according to Hill. Nearly 75 percent of people age 65 and older in the county are fully vaccinated, Hill said.
"We'd love to see north of 80 percent, so we've got quite a bit of work to do to get to that point," said Hill.
With younger children now eligible for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, that also helps explain decreasing new COVID-19 case counts in the county, Hill said.