The Tinley Park Convention Center is now open as a mass vaccination site against coronavirus in Illinois, state officials said.
The center, located at 18451 Convention Center Drive, opened Tuesday as a mass vaccination site for the Illinois National Guard in Cook County, according to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Pritzker, along with Cook County Council President Toni Preckwinkle, visited the new site on Monday as the state entered Phase 1B of the vaccine launch, opening doses for millions of residents.
Large-scale vaccination sites will allow us to get these rescue vaccine doses to Illinois quickly and efficiently as more federal vaccine shipments come online, Pritzker said in a statement. “The Illinois National Guard and the Illinois Department of Public Health are proud to work with Cook County to launch the Tinley Park Convention Center vaccination site – our seventh collaboration in Cook County in general, with many more to come. also in the state. “
Appointments are needed, according to Tinley Park Village, which said appointments can only be made through state and county websites. These can be scheduled through Cook County’s new vaccination site or by calling (833) 308-1988.
For a full look at how to make an appointment or receive vaccine information for your area, click here.
“This first location in Southland is indicative of our commitment to distributing the vaccine fairly, but we fully expect that demand will quickly exceed supply,” Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha said in a statement. to understand that, although we are eager to vaccinate everyone who wants to be vaccinated, the supply of vaccines remains the biggest limiting factor. We ask Cook County residents for their continued patience as we work to increase one of the largest county immunization programs in the country. “
County officials expect to be able to administer up to 3,000 vaccines a day “when the Tinley Park site is fully optimized and when an adequate vaccine is available.”
As of Tuesday, seven mass vaccination sites will be opened in suburban Cook County. (Full list of locations here)
The county said it plans to open at least five additional large sites in the suburbs in the coming weeks, but that will depend on vaccine availability.
Phase 1B, which began on Monday, opened vaccinations for people aged 65 and over, as well as for “essential front-line workers”, which includes first responders, education workers such as teachers and support staff, childcare, grocery store employees, postal service workers and More.
In addition to the Tinley Park site, several Walgreens and Jewel-Osco locations have also begun vaccinations or opened appointments for eligible Illinois residents in phase 1B of the state’s vaccine launch.
The Illinois Department of Public Health has launched a site for eligible residents to find vaccination events and make appointments.
The governor said that current vaccination sites in the state are only available on a scheduled basis, but that the state plans to launch access sites in the coming weeks.
“As the federal supply of vaccines increases and Illinois receives more vaccines, the state will launch access locations and expand sites to additional providers, such as doctors’ offices and emergency care clinics,” the governor’s office said Monday in -a statement. “More information about these locations will be published in the coming weeks.”