CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Demand is greater than the supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses right now in the Chicago area, so state officials are offering suggestions on how to get appointments sooner than later.
Governor Pritzker announced Thursday that 150,000 new first-dose vaccine appointments will be made available at the 11 state-supported mass vaccination sites in the Chicago suburbs and at area pharmacies the week of April 12. That is the same day the state opens to universal eligibility for individuals 16 and older, except for people in Chicagoans.
Chicago is expected to expanded to universal eligibility on April 19, meeting a new goal President Joe Biden set this week.
Related
Governor Pritzker said Chicagoans do not have to wait are "absolutely welcome," at suburban and downstate sites, as the entire state faces a third coronavirus surge.
“We now need to get as many shots into arms as quickly as we possibly can,” Pritzker said Thursday at a Forest Park mass vaccination site. “We’re reserving some vaccine to make sure we’re targeting particularly vulnerable groups that aren’t fully vaccinated yet, but right now we just want people to show up and get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“I want to make sure that people in Chicago know that they are welcome to sign up for our mass vaccination sites."
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady also encouraged city residents to travel to the suburbs, downstate, or even Indiana, if they have the means to do so.
“Indiana has got plenty of vaccine and not enough people taking it,” Arwady said during an online Q&A, referencing a federally operated operated mass vaccination site in Gary.
“I am frustrated that Chicago residents would need to leave Chicago to get vaccinated, but on the other hand, if you have the means to do that, if you are willing to take a drive...I want Chicago residents to know that they are eligible there,” she said.
Related
A record 154,000 COVID vaccinations were given in Illinois on Wednesday. Now, one in five Illinoisans is now fully vaccinated, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
But, despite the rollout ramping up, COVID cases continue to climb.
On Thursday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 3,739 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, including 34 additional deaths.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,269,196 cases, including 21,457 deaths.
As of Wednesday night, 1,798 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 351 patients were in the ICU and 151 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
“Yes, we have a vaccine and we are elated about that, but it doesn’t mean that this pandemic is completely over,” Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said. “We do need to continue to wear our masks before we can return to what we were doing pre-pandemic, in the way we did it pre-pandemic.”