More than 100,000 appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations at the new United Center mass vaccination site will open this week, officials in Chicago and Illinois said Tuesday.
Appointments will open exclusively to Illinois residents over the age of 65 on Thursday at 8:30 a.m., Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement, noting that there will be two ways to register:
- To register online, visit Zocdoc.com/vaccine. The website is designed to handle a much larger volume of scheduling requests. Zocdoc will show the availability of the appointment in real time, and the eligible residents will then be able to select a date / time and can book an online appointment. The date of birth will be required when booking an appointment to confirm vaccine eligibility.
- To register by phone, call (312) 746-4835. To help reduce the digital divide, a multilingual call center will be available to help older people make an appointment. This call center will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Due to the high demand for appointments, residents who can use the website should book their reservations online. While the call center has 200 employees, those who need to call the call center will probably have a long wait time.
Appointments will initially be open to seniors only for an exclusive recording period until Sunday afternoon, said Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Allison Arwady of the Chicago Department of Public Health in a Facebook Live update on Tuesday morning.
“Appointments will only be open to people 65 and older,” Arwady said. “Appointments will remain open only to the elderly, people aged 65 and over, from Thursday at 8:30 am to Sunday at 16:00 So Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday is the time when, if you have over 65 years old, you know someone over 65 years old, please help him to make an appointment. “
“Then, once we get to Sunday, if we don’t see all the appointments taken by people over the age of 65, starting at 16:00 on Sunday, then we will open up to people with basic conditions,” Arwady added.
A coalition of federal, state and local officials announced last week that the United Center will be transformed into a mass vaccination site as part of a new federal pilot program that will open on March 10th.
But Pritzker said Tuesday that the site will open limited days a day earlier, on March 9, with a full opening the next day. Arwady said early opening was possible based on “how some of the resources come in.”
The United Center site will operate seven days a week for eight weeks and will be able to manage 6,000 photos a day at full capacity, officials said, noting that vaccinations will be scheduled only and that demand is expected to increase. be great. These doses will be supplied directly from the federal government and will not be diverted from supplies sent to Chicago or Illinois.
Arwady also mentioned Tuesday that Uber offers 20,000 free trips to and from the United Center for Chicago residents who need transportation assistance. She said that the first few weeks of operation of the site will be walking, but that there are plans to add a drive-up component in the coming weeks.
After the special senior-only registration period that opens Thursday, the site will be open to all Illinois residents – not just Chicago residents – who currently qualify for vaccinations under the current Phase 1B Plus of the plan. launch of state vaccines.
The state extended the Phase 1B guidelines last week, opening up eligibility to include people with certain high-risk medical conditions and comorbidities.
The list of eligible high-risk medical conditions (subject to change) includes:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Diabetes
- Heart condition
- Immunocompromised condition from a solid organ transplant
- Obesity
- Task
- Lung disease
- Sickle cell disease
Previously, in the first iteration, Phase 1B, residents over the age of 65, as well as essential workers were eligible to receive the vaccine. Here’s a look at those who have already qualified for Phase 1B:
- Residents over the age of 65
- Frontline essential workers, which means “residents who are at higher risk of COVID-19 exposure due to their workloads, often because they cannot work from home and / or have to work closely with others without being able to distance themselves social. This includes:
- First respondents: Fire, law enforcement, 911 workers, security personnel, security personnel, school officers
- Education: Teachers, principals, student assistance, student aid, day caregiver
- Food and agriculture: Processing, plants, veterinary health, animal husbandry services, animal care
- Manufacturing: Industrial production of goods for distribution to retail, wholesale or other products
- Correctional workers and detainees: Prison officers, juvenile facility staff, personal support workers, detaineesU
- USPS workers
- Public transport workers: Flight crew, bus drivers, train conductors, taxi drivers, para-transit drivers, personal assistance, travel sharing services
- Grocery store workers: Baggers, cashiers, stocks, pick-ups, customer service
- Shelters and day care staff: Shelter without shelter, shelter for women, adult / abandonment program, sheltered workshop, psychosocial rehabilitation
While the state has expanded its Phase 1B, many counties, health departments and hospital systems – including Chicago and Cook County – have said they will not join the rest of Illinois in increasing eligibility, citing a reduced vaccine supply for those who already qualifies.
The United Center is one of 18 “federally established community immunization centers” across the country that President Joe Biden’s administration highlighted on Friday, whether it was recently opened or in the coming weeks. could manage a combined total of 61,000 photos per day maximum capacity.
These sites, including United Center, were selected based on a number of criteria, including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Social Vulnerability Index.”
This index helps officials to “identify and identify the communities most likely to need support before, during and after a dangerous event” taking into account “critical data points, including socio-economic status, household composition, minority status, languages, housing and transportation, “the White House said.
Chicago and Cook County have been identified as having a “significantly medically served and marginalized population,” the White House said, adding that the United Center is located in a “central and accessible” area of public transportation. proximity and walking.
“The site will serve up to 2.9 million people living within a 30-minute drive,” the White House said, noting that 22,000 people live within a mile of walking. arena.
“United Center is one of the best places to vaccinate a large number of people in America: it’s easy enough, it’s in the middle of a community that’s not medically served, it can handle large crowds, and it’s good. known to everyone in Illinois, ”Pritzker said. he said in a statement last week.
“I am deeply grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for working closely with us to bring this high capacity site and I am particularly proud that we have worked together to prioritize the elderly in this process, moving us much closer. to put an end to this pandemic, “he continued.