New Trier High School. (Dist. 203 image)

“Site use agreement with Cook County Department of Public Health,” is an agenda item on Tuesday’s (Feb. 16) New Trier High School Dist. 203 Board of Education meeting agenda. According to Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton (D-14th), this means the school’s Northfield campus will become a COVID-19 vaccination site — if approved by board members.

Britton said vaccines could start being administered at the school as soon as Wednesday, Feb. 24.

“Nothing happens until it happens, but,” Britton said he was confident after about six weeks of work, the site would open.

Britton said it was firefighters and chiefs from Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) Division 3 who envisioned the idea, “and wouldn’t let it go.” He said he and fellow county commissioners Larry Suffredin (D-13th) and Peter Silvestri (R-9th) pushed Cook County Health and other top county officials to set up the site.

Britton stressed the site would be used to vaccinate frontline essential workers including teachers, police and firefighters, who did not already receive the vaccine in the 1A frontline medical workers group. All vaccinations in Illinois are being done using advanced registration and reservations. Britton advised members of the general public not to just show up at the school.

There has been some frustration among his constituents that there are few vaccination sites in the northeastern part of Cook County, Britton said. The closest is at a Cook County medical facility in Arlington Heights.

The site will be staffed by firefighter-paramedics, police and municipal staff from MABAS Division 3 communities, which run from Highland Park and Bannockburn on the north to Evanston, Skokie, Niles and Park Ridge on the south, Des Plaines and Prospect Heights on the west, and Lake Michigan on the east, including North Maine, Glenview, Northfield, Northbrook, Prospect Heights, Morton Grove, Wilmette and Winnetka.

Niles Fire Chief Marty Feld said Niles and other communities would be sending firefighters to administer shots, along with police and village and city administrative staff to run the site. Britton said a representative from Cook County Health would also be at the site.