Juan, a local resident of Cicero, waited outside the Cicero Community Center for his father-in-law, on January 21, 2021. Juan’s father-in-law was one of the 100 people who received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccination without an appointment at this site (Photo by Irene Romulo).

By Irene Romulo

Cicero continues to have some of the highest COVID-19 positivity rates in suburban Cook County. As the number of deaths increase, it is more likely that each of us knows a family member, friend or neighbor who has died from the virus.

For some people in Cicero the vaccine offers a glimmer of hope and many are desperate to get it. Limited quantities make access to a vaccine difficult, but an unclear sign-up process and lack of information in Spanish, is making the process of getting vaccinated confusing and nearly impossible for some people to navigate.

I visited one of Cicero’s vaccination sites on two different days. On Thursday, January 21 the Cicero Community Center was the only vaccine distribution site in Cicero that was taking walk-ins. I found at least thirty people waiting in line when I arrived.

“Los hispanos tenemos un alto nivel de contagio es por eso que decidí ponerme la vacuna junto con mi esposa,” said Ildelfonso Escalante, 64. He tried to get a walk-in appointment on Thursday but he didn’t meet the age requirement. Like many who waited in line, he said he feared the virus more than he feared any vaccine side effects.

Juan, a Cicero resident for more than 20 years, waited outside for his father-in-law for more than an hour and a half. Juan’s father-in-law was one of the lucky 100 that got one of the coveted spots. He said his whole family plans to get the vaccine but they are still unsure of how to sign up.

“Ojala y se vacune a toda la gente y que esto lo hagan lo más rápido que se pueda,” Juan said while he stood outside waiting. “Necesitamos más información en español porque la gente estamos desesperados por ponernos la vacuna.”

Luis Rodriguez, a teacher from a nearby suburb, brought his 78 year old father to the Cicero Community Center, the vaccination site by the Town of Cicero, on January 21, 2021. (Photo by Irene Romulo)

Juan and Escalante weren’t the only ones who struggled to figure out how to get an appointment. Luis Rodriguez, a teacher in a nearby suburb, brought his 78 year old father to the vaccination site after visiting several others. “For somebody like my dad, who can’t navigate the internet...I feel it's unfair,” he said about the online registration process. He came to Cicero because a friend told him about the walk-in site. It was important for him to get his father vaccinated in order to feel some relief during the pandemic.

During the course of an hour, at least forty people were turned away and told to come back on Monday the 25th when 100 new walk-ins spots would be available. Some were also told to call the Town of Cicero Health Department to make an appointment or to go online (no website was actually given to them). Most of the people who were turned away were older, Spanish-speaking residents who left, disappointed that they did not make the cut. One woman tried desperately to sneak inside without success. She was turned away three times by security guards.

That same afternoon the Town of Cicero posted information on social media asking people interested in a vaccine to email the Cicero Health Department. A few hours later, they created an online google sign up form.

Lidia, another Cicero resident who works at a social service agency, saw the google form and tried to register her mom who has been wanting a vaccine. “[My mom] she doesn't know how to email. She doesn’t even know what a Google [form] is. Without my help I don't think she would have even known those vaccines were available in Cicero,” she said over the phone.

By Friday evening, the survey form had been closed.

I visited the Community Center again the morning of January 25. When I got there at 7:30 there were at least 50 people waiting in line outside of the Cicero Community Center in the hopes of getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Most of them had not been able to secure an appointment but had come back after being told by town employees the previous week that 100 vaccines would be available for walk-ins.

People in line crowded around Susan Grazzini, Director of the Cicero Health Department, when she finally stepped outside around 8:15 a.m.

Grazzini explained to the crowd that more walk-ins would be accepted “maybe never”. She said she only had about 600 doses left for 1,800 people who were able to secure appointments. She urged everyone to be patient as there is a national shortage of vaccines. She explained all of that in English and it was up to members of the crowd to interpret for those in line who only spoke Spanish. Several people left after that. Disappointed that they weren’t able to get a vaccine and confused, still, about how to get an appointment.

It was unclear whether people who registered via the Town’s google form would receive an appointment at all. The spokesperson for the Town of Cicero has not answered requests for an interview with Grazzini.

Vaccine shortages are expected results of an inadequate federal response to a pandemic that has devastated communities of color. However, the lack of preparedness locally, to handle an immigrant, Spanish-speaking population with limited access to the internet is creating even more barriers for people who are desperate to see this pandemic end. To sign up for a vaccine appointment through the Cook County website people have to fill out online registration forms that require an email address or a phone number. What happens to those who have neither?

At the press conference announcing the rollout of the Cook County Department of Health’s vaccine sign-up form, officials urged young people to help seniors sign up, especially those who don’t have internet access.

This should not be a responsibility that falls on the shoulders of young people, who are themselves struggling with the mental health impacts of the pandemic. It also relies on the assumption that young people will know how to or have access to the information needed to register. With so many links and websites, the process of finding a vaccine is not easy.

The City of Chicago has released a plan to have paid workers help people with registration. This comes after crucial reporting that shows how despite dying at higher rates, Latinx and Black communities are not the ones getting the vaccine. As new vaccines are produced and organizations and media work to address vaccine concerns and myths, we also need to be working on ways to ensure that all people have access to registration processes and vaccine locations. The Town of Cicero has not released a comprehensive plan to ensure that people who want the vaccine are able to receive assistance registering for it.

As I waited outside the Cicero Community Center on both days, I heard several people thank God for this new glimmer hope. “Gracias a dios por la vacuna. Ya hay mucha muerte,” one woman, wrapped in her rebozo said as I was leaving.

She wasn’t able to get the vaccine that day.

To register for an appointment to get a vaccine, Cicero and suburban residents can visit https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov/ or call the hotline at (833)308-1988, Monday thru Friday from 7 am to 7 pm. You’ll need different phone numbers if you’re registering more than one person. Additional vaccine locations can be found at the Illinois Department of Public Health website https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/vaccination-location

Alivio Medical Center in Berwyn will soon create a portal for people to register for a vaccine.

If you or your organization is helping people to register for the vaccine please let us know. Email me at irene@ciceroindependiente.com

Irene Romulo is a contributing reporter and editor at Cicero Independiente.

*What is an editorial? An editorial gives an opinion on a timely issue. Editorials are different than our reported stories because they often promote a single viewpoint, are more personal in tone and may be written in the first-person. We still fact-check them to make sure that we are delivering accurate information.