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CHAMPAIGN, III (WAND) : Champaign County has one of the highest percentages of fully vaccinated residents in Central Illinois with about 50% of the total population fully vaccinated, according to IDPH. 

Champaign Urbana Public Health administrator, Julie Pryde, says it's almost impossible to not find vaccine appointments in Champaign County, helping with their high vaccination rates. "We have made vaccines available seven days a week, at all hours of the day night in neighborhood clinics, outreach clinics, all over the place." Pryde says.

Another plus, Pryde says the C-U community is unmatched, saying residents are unique to the Central Illinois area. "We have a community that's very in tune with with what's going on, they seem to be following the pandemic, really closely." 

Neighboring counties like Vermilion trailing behind at about 32% of their population fully vaccinated. Vermilion County Public Health Administrator Douglas Toole says it's hard to pinpoint an exact reason why the county is falling behind. 
 
"It's really hard to say why we're so far behind some of our neighbors," Toole tells WAND News. Ultimately, Toole says the community is not as open to the shot. "We just seem to have some more vaccine hesitancy in our county, unfortunately."
 
The vaccine hesitancy is not just for the COVID-19 Vaccine, but for many other required vaccinations. "When you take a look at Vermillion county over time. This is an area that doesn't do preventative health very well. We tend to lag behind our neighbors when it comes to flu vaccination and back to school shots."

Pryde says, some of the neighboring counties may just be receiving inaccurate information."I think that there are certain counties where the community is just not engaged or they're engaged in other type of information that is, is simply not accurate." 

Vaccinations are available in Central Illinois fairly easily and Pryde says, it's not too late. "I mean we are still seeing people coming in and getting vaccinated, We're very grateful for that because that's the best way to keep people out of the hospital and from us having any more deaths."

Toole in Vermilion says the department will continue to push the community to get the shots and hoping their numbers begin to increase. "We’re asking people to have faith in that we're hoping that over time we can kind of, wear down the resistance that people were kind of on the fence."

 

To book your COVID-19 vaccine:

CUPHD Website

VCPHD Website

 

 

 

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