Last Thursday night, the DeWitt County Board heard from DeWitt/Piatt Bi-County Health Department Director Dave Remmert on the most recent developments regarding the COVID vaccine locally.

Remmert indicates sign-ups are available for getting vaccinated and they will begin mass vaccinations likely starting next week locally.

Ex-DeWitt County Board Chair David Newberg applauded Remmert for the work done by him and his staff. Remmert says it shouldn't be too long and they'll be vaccinating around 500 to 1000 residents per week.

From the audience at the virtual meeting Thursday, a question was raised about residents that had signed up already needing to sign up again. Remmert indicates they will need to fill out the electronic sign up when it becomes available.

Concerns raised from County Board members also centered around the cost of the vaccine. Remmert stresses the vaccine would be free. Additionally, a question was raised about the availability of the vaccine and Remmert did not see any reason they would not have enough vaccines to meet the needs of the public.

Next week's vaccine sign-ups are filled up but he points the public to their Facebook page for the latest link for the following week's sign-up list. SignUpGenius links will be posted weekly for available appointment slots after assessing the supply of vaccines and local staffing to administer the vaccine. He notes there has been an overwhelming demand for vaccination.