Illinois health officials announced Friday the launch of a nationwide meeting for coronavirus vaccination on their website, which should provide more effective doses.
“As we increase our ability to make the vaccine widely available, we will launch a nationwide website to provide more information so you can make an appointment to get your vaccine,” said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. , in a press conference.
Illinois can already access the state’s coronavirus website, which offers the vaccination plan, the Illinois Restore plan and pandemic information. Once appointments become available, residents can access a link that takes them to their local health care provider to coordinate when and where to receive the vaccine.
Pritzker added that some pharmacies, such as Walgreens, already have an online programming site, and others are expected to follow soon.
“Although appointments will be difficult to obtain for some time, the times will become more and more available as our state receives an increasing number of doses,” he said.
Pritzker announced last week that the state will begin its next vaccination phase, also known as Phase 1B, on January 25th. Phase 1B will include approximately 3.2 million people in Illinois, according to the state.
Phase 1B includes anyone over the age of 65, as well as key front-line workers who have been prioritized, such as first responders, people working in correctional facilities, grocery store workers, day care workers, people who works in factories, educators and in the school, public transport employees, postal workers and others.
Pritzker said last week that the state will have “hundreds of vaccination sites across the state, including retail pharmacy chains, Illinois National Guard mobile teams, state-run mass vaccination sites in the north, center and south.” Illinois, hospitals and emergency care locations, and finally, doctors’ offices and large employers that can host their own clinics in the workplace. “
The Illinois National Guard has also been activated to assist local health departments in expanding vaccination clinics, Pritzker said, with the first two teams running on Cook County Department of Health websites.
Beginning Jan. 25, National Guard-led sites will begin vaccinating eligible Phase 1B residents, as well as CVS, Jewel Osco and Walgreens sites, Pritzker said.
All of these vaccination sites will be for appointments only, Pritzker said, urging residents not to line up at the store or call their local pharmacies, but rather use the website once available.
Chicago is currently preparing to enter the next phase of vaccinations with the rest of Illinois, opening doses for front-line workers and those over the age of 65.
But the city’s top doctor warned on Thursday that appointments for those who qualify will be “very limited”, requiring patience, as he said most people who qualify for vaccinations in this next phase will probably have to wait “a few weeks”. .
Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the city is not receiving doses “close enough” from the federal government to vaccinate all eligible people – a trend that has been going on nationwide since the shipments began. last month.
“Let me point out that we don’t have any vaccine close enough to vaccinate close to the number of people who will want to get vaccinated starting Monday,” Arwady said. “I’m excited that there’s so much demand here. We’re not wasting any vaccines, we’re not wasting any vaccines in Chicago in one day, we’re not wasting any vaccines in the future.”
However, she noted that Chicago has more than 360,000 residents over the age of 65 and more than 300,000 people who are employed in some of the sectors eligible to be vaccinated in phase 1B.
Arwady said Thursday that there are four ways residents can be vaccinated against COVID-19: through their medical system or health care provider, through pharmacies, through a dedicated vaccination location, such as distribution points, or through their employer.
Arwady said the first way, through the individual medical systems of residents, is how most people will be vaccinated. This includes primary care physicians, federally qualified health centers, hospitals and other care systems, she said, noting that many of these systems have already reached “some of the most vulnerable patients” to make appointments.
Arwady said about the second way, through pharmacies, that the city has registered more than 100 pharmacies in Chicago and will share more information on Monday on how to register for a meeting in this way.
The third way will be through mass vaccination sites, such as Chicago’s “POD” locations, Arwady said. The city has launched six PODs in the locations of the city’s colleges, which it mentioned are still for health care workers, not for the general public and only on a scheduling basis.
Arwady said the fourth way people in Chicago can get vaccinated through their employers was how he got the most questions.
Earlier this week, Arwady released new details about the city’s vaccine distribution plan, including tentative data for when each of the following phases could begin, with the goal of opening vaccinations to all Chicagoans over the age of 16 by the end May.
Arwady announced in a live stream on Tuesday that the city will temporarily seek to enter Phase 1C on March 29, followed by Phase 2 on May 31.
Phase 1C includes all essential workers who are not covered in the previous phases, as well as Chicagoans between the ages of 16 and 64 who have underlying medical conditions, Arwady said.
“Looking ahead to Phase 2, which is really when a vaccine is available to all Chicagoans, we’re tentatively saying it could start on May 31 at the end of May. All of these numbers for phase 1C and phase 2 can be changed, but only to give people a high level of meaning of what we think, “Arwady said.
Arwady said again on Thursday that those who qualify for phase 1B vaccinations, scheduled to begin on Monday, do not yet have to register anywhere, but the option may be available soon.
Chicago officials say the best way to get vaccination launch updates is through the “Chi COVID Coach,” a platform the Chicago Department of Public Health uses to monitor symptoms, provide information about testing in the city and help you get the latest details about the city’s vaccination plan – including notification when you can register to get vaccinated.
You can sign up for Chi COVID Coach here.