OpiniOn

Opinion THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENT Woodstock, IL • 1987

COVID-19’s vaccine rollout in Illinois – and especially McHenry County – could be seen as a case of over-promising and under-delivering.

While health officials (and the politicians they advise) never really promised you would be vaccinated on a date certain, their announced schedule created expectations that this process would be much smoother and quicker than it has been.

For example, the Illinois Department of Public Health revealed late last week that McHenry County had vaccinated not quite 17 percent of its more than 44,000 people ages 65 and older – ranking us in the bottom 10 percent of counties in Illinois. Statewide, more than 27 percent of those seniors have had at least the first of two required doses.

That segment of the population is part of Phase 1B for the vaccine, along with first responders, educators, grocery store workers, and others. Those seniors were told in mid-January to enroll with the county Department of Health and wait for an email inviting an appointment to get the shot.

A month later, it appears most are still waiting – and they don’t seem to be getting any closer to the front the line for their first dose.

In the meantime, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced last week that Phase 1B eligibility would be extended to include people under 65 with pre-existing health problems.

And over the weekend, the IDPH said a larger number of vaccine doses would, starting this week, be directed to serve the growing number of people who need a second shot – which means fewer first doses will be available because of the limited number of vaccine shipments from the federal government.

If there is good news, it might be in the realization that COVID-19 has been around here for nearly

INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY KEN FARVER

a year, and the vast majority of seniors have escaped infection without widespread vaccination of the population.

It’s just that the availability of vaccines two months ago created something of a false sense of urgency – though reports about variants of the virus have justifiably heightened our concern recently.

When the state distributed the first doses of vaccine in December, they went to the 50 Illinois counties with the highest death rates per capita, which did not include McHenry County. Fortunately.

Still, even if the coronavirus has caused the death of “only” one of every 1,200 county residents, it has sickened one of every 13 of us and our neighbors. And, as the table on Page 2 shows, the virus is making hundreds more people ill every week.

Seniors have a special concern in those statistics. Nearly 90 percent of the virus-related deaths in McHenry County have been people 60 or older.

Melissa Adamson, the county’s public health administrator, offered some assurance a month ago that seniors would not be left behind.

“We will need to further prioritize within the Phase 1B group,” she said, “but we will make sure everyone who is interested in receiving the vaccine will have the opportunity to do so before moving on.”

Obviously, that did not mean “before moving on” to people who need a second dose. They need to be a priority because of the limited window to fully vaccinate them.

We’ll assume there will be no other exceptions.

The Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA passed in 2016) allowed for funds to help invigorate the clean-energy sector, protect the environment, provide new job opportunities, and move Illinois into a future that acknowledges the dire need to wean off non-renewable sources of energy, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. FEJA has already brought clean energy projects, like community solar, right here to McHenry County.

Enter CEJA – The Clean Energy Jobs Act, being considered now in the state Legislature, will continue the proven track-record of providing jobs, transitioning workers from the fossil fuel industry to the clean-energy sector, and bring with it a dedication to provide environmental justice to communities of color and low income that have been disproportionately affected by dirty energy.

With CEJA, the plan is to get to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, cut carbon from the power sector by 2030, reduce pollution from gas and diesel vehicles in the transportation sector, and create jobs and economic opportunity for every part of Illinois. It provides hope to workers and business leaders and to the next generation of students looking for a secure career.

Acting now with urgency through smart legislation that protects the environment while providing job and career opportunities to Illinoisans everywhere is within our grasp … if the public servants we hired vote YES on CEJA in 2021. Please contact your legislators and Gov. Pritzker and ask them to pass CEJA now!

Cynthia Kanner, executive director

Environmental Defenders of McHenry County

General Motors’ Superbowl commercial, featuring Will Ferrell hilariously starting a feud with Norway over who will have the most electric cars was pure genius. And GM touting their 30 new [electric vehicles] by 2025 to 100 million people at once was a monumental step in the right direction for our planet!

n The Woodstock Independent welcomes letters of general interest to the community. n We reserve the right to edit for clarity, content, and length. n Please limit letters to 400 words. Longer submissions may be considered for a guest column. n Letters must be signed and include the writer’s address and a telephone number, which will be used for verification purposes only. It will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be considered for publication. n Email letters to pr@thewoodstock independent.com or mail or drop them off at our office, 671 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock, IL 60098.

As I write, it’s shortly after 11 a.m. on Saturday. Snow is falling very gently, and it’s 3 degrees. It’s another beautiful winter day in a string of more than two weeks of snowy, cold weather. How I wish I had a pair of snowshoes. I’d love to be out in it.

I missed my Friday noon column deadline this week. I had writer’s block Thursday and Friday. I made two feeble attempts to write. Each time, I completed about three paragraphs before I mentally ripped the paper out of my typewriter, wadded it into a ball, and threw it into a wastepaper basket. Mentally – because I compose on a laptop, so there’s no paper to wad, just a delete key to tap.

So why was I having so much difficulty writing? Because … I really questioned being a Pollyanna-columnist again as we travel in the COVID-19 lane. I wanted to write about blooming where we’re planted, but I was getting nowhere.

The spell was broken Friday afternoon when my 4-H and college friend, Connie, called. Our calls are one of the blessings of the pandemic. It prompted us to talk weekly after years of communicating with birthday and Christmas greetings. I shared my writer’sblock dilemma with her.

“Have you considered writing about Amanda Gorman?” Connie asked. “First, being selected for the inauguration and then the Super Bowl. Talk about different audiences.”

“In fact, I have written about her,” I replied. “And, I included the text of her inauguration poem in Declarations the next week. She stole the show.”

“You might want to check her Fourth of July appearance with the Boston Pops,” Connie suggested. “Must have been 2019, since nothing like that would have happened in 2020 with COVID. It’s really moving, too.”

“She’s so uplifting,” I said. “Her messages are so positive and inspiring.”

Connie wrapped up that part of our conversation by saying: “So, what’s wrong with you being a Pollyanna? That’s who you are. We all need to be reminded of the good that’s available to us.”

That did it. Writer’s block removed, I was ready.

With the children back in school at least part of each week, vaccines being administered, and our county in Phase 4, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. It’s as if spring is on the way. It’s time, once again, to see ourselves blooming where we are planted. That means taking advantage of opportunities we are given and being grateful for whatever our present situation might be.

Way back in March, nearly 11 months ago, when we were just starting to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus, I asked all of you to send examples of how you were putting joy, fun, and caring into your stay days. Let’s do that again. I’ll lead it off … n My sister, who is often on vacation this time of year, decided to make one day each week a vacation day. On vacation day, Nann does vacation things – spends the afternoon reading a book or playing games on the computer, orders vacation-like food from a nearby restaurant, wears vacation clothes, and sends “postcards” – actually, e-cards – to family and friends. One vacation day, she sent 24. n Jim and I have enjoyed matching music and food. When we had pizza the other night, Pandora provided Italian music from the time I started making the dough until we were pleasantly full of veggie pizza with anchovies and pepperoni. When we ate Mexican food, Pandora entertained us with rancheras and mariachi music. n Reaching out with phone calls, texts, cards, letters, emails, FaceTime, Zoom, etc. are all win-wins. The sender wins, having connected with a family member, friend or neighbor. And, the recipient wins, having the joy of knowing someone cares. n A couple of more ideas: movie nights, daily workouts, sledding, special breakfast and ….

Send your bloom-where-planted ideas to me at c.wormley@thewoodstockindependent.com or mail them to me at 671 E. Calhoun St.

Cheryl Wormley Declarations

Cheryl Wormley is publisher of The Woodstock Independent. Her email address is c.wormley@thewoodstockindependent.com.

McHenry County Office 333 Commerce Drive, Suite 700 Crystal Lake, IL 60014 630-549-2190

Chicago office James R. Thompson Center 100 W. Randolph St., 16-100 Chicago, IL 60601 312-814-2121

District Office 5400 W. Elm St., Suite 103 McHenry, IL 60050 815-455-6330

Chairman Michael Buehler 1630 Quail Way Crystal Lake, IL 60014 815-334-4224 mjbuehler@co.mchenry.il.us

Supervisor Susan Brokaw 1039 Lake Ave. Woodstock, IL 60098 815-338-0125 supervisor@dorrtownship.com

$75 in Woodstock, Bull Valley and Wonder Lake. $77 in McHenry County. $82 for snowbirds and $90 outside McHenry County.

We strive for accuracy. To suggest corrections or clarifications, email news@ thewoodstockindependent.com.

Cheryl Wormley

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