The site, located in Oakton Street, not far from O’Hare Airport, is one of the first to offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Appointments for mass vaccination in Des Plaines can be made at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or by phone at (833) 308-1988. The website will be open from Monday to Friday from 7 to 19 hours
“Today with our opening, we are very excited to say that we are offering 800 vaccination slots today,” Ratna Kanumury told Cook County Health.
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Jack Alberts, 83, became emotional when he arrived for his appointment, reflecting on how difficult it was not to see his grandchildren.
“I have not seen my grandchildren … excuse me … in more than a year and it is difficult,” he said.
Alberts, like many others, struggled to make an appointment when Cook County Health opened them Thursday. All 18,000 places were booked within hours.
Jill Walsh is a nursing instructor who thought she would administer the vaccine before she could get it, but she was lucky enough to get an appointment on the site’s opening day.
“I was waiting for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and did not expect to get it until the summer. When it was available locally, I was excited,” she said.
Scott Rovner felt he had won the lottery when he finally got a lock online.
“When it hit, it was like ‘Oh my God, thank God I got an appointment,'” Royner said. “I just had the day off today, so it all worked out.”
Kevin Schneider is a college student working at McDonald’s and he is celebrating his 19th birthday this weekend as a vaccinated man.
“It’s like a weight off my chest, I feel much safer,” he said.
The new Des Plaines website is for Cook County residents only and will be the state’s first large-scale vaccination center to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“It is a single-dose vaccine that is 100 percent safe and effective in preventing death,” Kanumury said.
Cook County Health says as the site pops up, it will be able to offer 2,800 slots in a given day.
Currently, four national guard teams of 18 members support her.
The focus is on vaccinating people aged 65 and older, health care workers and frontline and essential staff in front of the general population.
“The federal government has reassured us that by the end of May, they can deliver enough vaccine to anyone who wants to receive the vaccine,” Kanumury said.
Cook County Health says they do not yet know when they will offer more appointments for the current phase. They said it would depend on the vaccines.
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