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SUBMITTING A PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE TO FILE #21-0541
(Health and Hospitals Committee 1/26/2021)
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
REQUESTING A MEETING OF THE COOK COUNTY HEALTH AND HOSPITALS COMMITTEE TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE FROM THE COOK COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH ON THEIR COVID-19 MASS IMMUNIZATION PLANS IN SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, on January 27, 2020, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services declared that COVID-19, a respiratory illness spread by close contact through respiratory droplets, presents a public health emergency, and the World Health Organization characterized the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 continues to be a serious threat across the U.S. and Cook County, and
WHEREAS, many hospitals across the U.S. already have a higher load of COVID-19 patients than ever before since the pandemic began, and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Robert Redfield, warned last month that the next few months of the pandemic would be among “the most difficult in the public health history of this nation” and;
WHEREAS, as of January 19, 2021 there have been 194,898 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 in Suburban Cook County under the jurisdiction of the Cook County Department of Public Health with 3,639 reported deaths; and
WHEREAS, on December 11, 2020, the FDA approved emergency use authorization of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine; and
WHEREAS, on December 18, 2020, the FDA authorized the emergency use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in individuals 18 years of age or older; and
WHEREAS, the approval has quickly ramped up the federal government’s distribution of the potentially lifesaving vaccine to 64 states, territories and major cities across the nation; and
WHEREAS, initial doses of Pfizer’s vaccine have been limited as manufacturing increases, with priority given to health-care workers and nursing homes first, but with subsequent phases the distribution will become available to a wider portion of the populace; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) is the Illinois certified local health department for suburban Cook County, Illinois, with the exception of Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park, and Stickney Township, serving 127 municipalities; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) working alongside the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security is charged with making the COVID-19 vaccine available to people in CCDPH’s jurisdiction of suburban Cook County; and
WHEREAS, CCDPH is working with partners at all levels, including hospitals, health care providers and community leaders, to develop flexible and responsive COVID-19 vaccination programs that can accommodate different vaccines; and
WHEREAS, it is paramount that as the vaccines become more readily available we work together and take advantage of all available resources in order to effectively administer the difficult and complex task of mass immunization so that we can overcome this healthcare crisis and look towards recovery; and
WHEREAS, equally important will be to ensure the vaccines are distributed in an equitable fashion, prioritizing those areas and residents of the county that have been most impacted by COVID-19 as a result of longstanding disparities in healthcare system access and delivery.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Health and Hospitals Committee convene a meeting to discuss the Cook County Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 vaccination planning for Suburban Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Department of Public Health and any other identified Cook County entity involved in Cook County COVID-19 response will provide a monthly COVID-19 update to the Cook County Health and Hospitals Committee. This will include but not be limited to their COVID-19 vaccine plans, contract tracing plans and any other pertinent information regarding COVID-19 for Suburban Cook County.end