Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico is committed to doing everything he can to get people in his community vaccinated, looking to neighboring communities for inspiration.
Chirico is looking into hosting mass vaccination events like the one recently held in Aurora. He is currently working with private institutions to get them set up. These one- or two-day clinics would be able to vaccinate hundreds of people for COVID-19 in a single day, and he’s also looking at a long-term vaccination program to provide 100 vaccines per day for several weeks.
These programs wouldn’t be hosted by a governmental agency, but he’s working on getting the process approved by the federal and state authorities. Connecting with the appropriate organizations and obtaining the state and federal approvals are a work in progress, said Chirico.
“We will get something soon,” he said. “We just need to be patient.”
In the meantime, Chirico said some Naperville residents have driven to counties hours away, where vaccines are available and easier to get.
According to city data, Naperville has 359 active cases of COVID-19 and has recorded at least 10,525 cases in the city since the pandemic hit. Just over 203 residents have died of the virus as of March 9, and there were 21 individuals in Edward Hospital for treatment, said Keith Hartenberger, spokesperson for Edward Hospital
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