CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the United Center is up and running and expected to provide 6,000 shots a day. Meanwhile officials said they are making sure those who need the vaccine most will get it.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said nearly half the available appointments at the United Center vaccination site have already been booked, but most of them have gone to people from outside Chicago - prompting a change in who is eligible.
Officials announced Monday that appointments will now be restricted to Chicagoans. Initially, appointments were available to all Illinois residents and the appointments already scheduled will be honored.
The United Center mass vaccination site will had a soft opening Tuesday, and Bob Fenton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was on hand to say the Biden Administration is providing the vaccine and funds for the Illinois National Guard to administer it. And, the United Center on Chicago's West Side was chosen for a reason.
"The key is to ensure that these sites provide vaccine to the most affected, the most vulnerable and ensure that they get vaccinated," he said.
Mayor Lightfoot said officials took steps to ensure that areas that suffered the most from COVID have better access to the remaining shots.
"Appointments will be set aside for residents who live in high-COVID community vulnerability index neighborhoods, or CCVI zip codes and zip codes with low vaccination rates," Lightfoot said.
West Side State Senator Patricia Van Pelt is grateful.
"I mean this could have been put out somewhere in the suburbs, but no, it was brought here, in the middle of this West Side community where there is a great, great need," she said. "Where so many people are being left out."
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle agreed the United Center is more than just the largest mass vaccination sites in the state. It's accessible to people from the areas hardest hit by COVID.
"It's also an accessible location to many residents in vulnerable communities; the same communities that have been disproportionately ravaged by COVID-19," she said.
Officials said some 50,000 appointments are still available.
