VACCINE PLAN GETS SHOT IN THE ARM
‘Most’ Chicagoans will be eligible March 29; sources say all of rest of state by April 12
Most Chicagoans will be eligible to sign up for COVID-19 vaccination appointments starting March 29, the city’s top doctor said Wednesday.
Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady outlined the city’s plan to expand vaccine eligibility to city residents 16 and up with chronic health conditions, plus additional groups of essential workers.
That means “a major increase” in the pool of eligible recipients, which will soon include the majority of Chicago’s 2.7 million residents, Arwady said.
“Most Chicagoans will actually be eligible to be vaccinated beginning March 29, but just because you’re eligible, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to be vaccinated right away. It’s all going to depend on vaccine supply,” Arwady said.
Meanwhile, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to announce Thursday that he will expand vaccine eligibility to the rest of the state for those 16 and older starting April 12.
For the city, residents 65 and older will remain priority. About half the city’s seniors have gotten a dose so far, Arwady said.
The soon-to-be-eligible Phase 1C recipients are more likely to start receiving doses through April and May.
That group includes people with underlying conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and sickle cell disease, among others. Newly eligible workers will include those in transportation, hospitality, food service, finance, media, information technology and others “with a focus on those who can’t work from home,” Arwady said.
After that, the city plans to follow President Joe Biden’s directive to open eligibility to all adults by May 1.
Most parts of the state outside the Chicago area already expanded eligibility last month to people with underlying conditions. Officials in suburban Cook County said they’ll do likewise beginning March 22 but haven’t yet announced a date for a full Phase 1C expansion.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 102,390 more vaccine doses went into arms Tuesday, marking the state’s first sixfigure vaccination day since Friday and increasing Illinois’ overall vaccination tally to almost 4.3 million doses administered over the past three months.
From that total, just over 1.6 million residents have been fully immunized, or 12.6% of the population, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
About 28% of residents 16 or older have gotten at least one shot, and about 58% of people 65 or older have gotten a dose, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Virus infection rates have dipped to all-time lows across the state.
Officials reported 1,655 new cases were diagnosed among 77,798 tests, decreasing Illinois’ average positivity rate slightly to 2.2%, lower than it ever fell last summer.
More than 1.2 million residents have contracted COVID-19, and 20,988 of them have died.