Appointments for the COVID 19 vaccine for United Center can now be scheduled at Zocdoc.com/vaccine and by phone, while a new site in Des Plaines also accepts new appointments.
A total of 110,000 meetings were made available for the United Center mass vaccination site. The first meetings opened on Thursday at 8:30 am for seniors. After the senior registration period, anyone who is eligible for a vaccine as part of the Phase 1B + group can begin scheduling appointments at 4pm on Sunday, March 7th.
Starting with 15.00, 27,819 seniors registered for appointments at United Center.
To register for an appointment at United Center, visit www.zocdoc.com/vaccine or call the multilingual hotline (312) 746-4835 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and from 8 p.m. : 00 to 16:00 Sunday.
“I think it’s a fairer system to put all availability in one place, than to have hidden pockets where you have to either work the system or work your connections,” said Oliver Kharraz, founder and CEO of Zocdoc. .
The Chicago Department of Public Health and the Chicago Fire Department are partners in a pilot program that will bring vaccines to the elderly at home. Paramedics will administer the vaccines to residents’ homes if they are unable to travel to a vaccination site. Those interested can complete a survey at: https://redcap.link/MobileCOVIDVax.
While tens of thousands of meetings are available, organizers are asking for patience, as massive demand threatens to overwhelm the system; the online registration portal collapsed in the first half hour when it opened.
“Some people failed to get through right away, you know, just a sign of how much demand there is for appointments,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner. “You know, in about 20-30 minutes, everything was up and running again.”
For 70-year-old Paul Penzick, signing up was a breeze; it took about 10 minutes for him to register for his meeting when he tried around 9 o’clock in the morning
“I was expecting a nightmare and it just flew,” he said. “It’s not that easy. I’m not frustrated anymore.”
Gabriel Alvavara drove from Prospect Heights to the United Center site, came looking for a number to call to secure a slot for when the site will open next week. He has problems with diabetes and cholesterol.
“I work at Goodwill and I’m scared because everyone has a second and I need a first,” Alvavara said.
At 8:30 a.m., Zocdoc was working for people 65 and older to schedule their first vaccine at the United Center. Alvavara called the multilingual helpline 200 times without luck.
ABC7 tried to make an appointment on Zocdoc, only to be sent in circles.
“I don’t know what happened right now in Chicago, but I’m looking for someone to help me,” Alvavara said.
Alvavara managed to reach the phone line at 10 in the morning and was put on hold.
An organization trying to help immigrants and undocumented people register online also said the system proved frustrating. The alternative, calling the phone line, was even worse.
“We’ve been waiting so long, you know, 20, 30, 40 minutes of waiting trying to get our hands on someone,” said Sarah Walker of the Right 2 Family Vaccine Campaign. And in the end, they never reached the helpline.
Dr. Arwady said the system is equipped to handle about 600 calls at any one time, so the amount of demand will affect how easy or difficult it is to pass.
“But keep calling,” she said. “There are meetings and then we will work to help people.”
Several people came to the United Center, who were confused by all the information from the last weeks and days.
Ferry Jordan thought she had an appointment and could be vaccinated on Thursday, appearing only to be rejected.
“But it’s okay with all this mass vaccination,” Jordan said. “I can understand that. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but you ask questions and you keep trying.”
Officials stressed that appointments cannot be made on the spot and must be registered either online or by phone.
Zocdoc expects all 110,000 vaccinations at UC to be booked on Thursday, with an estimated demand of 300 bookings per minute, or more than 18,000 per hour.
“I think there’s a fair chance that all 110,000 will go,” Kharraz said. “I think there’s still a lot more demand for the vaccine than there is supply.”
ABC 7 has learned that some of these meetings, up to 19%, will be dedicated to the call center. But some want the system to do more to target communities of color.
“A weighted lottery system,” suggested Dr. Marina Del Rios, Vaccine Corp Partnership. “Or at least you have a list of priority people. If you’re in these zip codes and in these communities, then you get the first words.”
SEE | The Des Plaines mass vaccination site will open on Thursday
Located in a former K-Mart store, the new mass vaccination site in Des Plaines is one of the largest, if not the largest, in the northwestern suburbs. It opens on Thursday, and officials hope to begin vaccinations on Friday or Saturday for Phase 1B people.
Appointments for the Des Plaines mass vaccination site can be made starting Thursday at 1 p.m. at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or by phone at (833) 308-1988. The site will be open Monday to Friday from 07:00 to 19:00
Cook County Council President Toni Preckwinkle was joined by other public officials as he walked to this new location at 1155 East Oakton Street in Des Plaines on Wednesday.
The site supported by the National Guard will be the first in Cook County to use the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The county expects to receive 18,000 doses of J&J from the federal government on Thursday. The goal is to vaccinate up to 3,500 people a day.
“Because Johnson & Johnson is a single-dose vaccine, patients do not have to worry about scheduling a second appointment,” said Israel Rocha, Jr., CEO, Cook County Health. “This is an advantage we can afford to make sure we can actually see more individuals through sites like today.”
“We will continue to ask for patience in this vaccination process. As we know, the supply of vaccines has been limited and, although it is improving, we still cannot meet the demand,” Preckwinkle said.
This Des Plaines site is the fourth largest vaccination center in suburban Cook County, joining facilities in Tinley Park, River Grove and South Holland. This is in addition to sites supported by the National Guard in several health centers in Cook County.
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