Capitol Fax.com – Your Illinois news radar »Pritzker expands eligibility for Phase 1B and will prioritize people with disabilities

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* Press release…

In light of an ever-growing federal supply of vaccines, Illinois is making plans to expand Phase 1B eligibility on February 25 for people with the comorbidities and underlying conditions defined by the CDC. In addition, Illinois will also prioritize people with disabilities.

Since taking office, the Biden administration has increased vaccine supplies by almost 30 percent, including a 5 percent increase this week. Among other important efforts to increase supply:

    * The White House is launching a new vaccination program at the Community Health Center to target additional vaccines to locations across the country that serve the most affected populations, which will increase in the coming weeks.
    * The FDA is scheduled to meet to review the candidate vaccine Johnson and Johnson COVID-19, a single dose vaccine that does not require extreme cold storage and provided 100 percent protection against hospitalization and death in its clinical trial, 26 February, and the company said it is on track to deliver 100 million doses to the United States by the end of June.

“Once we get enough vaccine supplies, we don’t have to waste time protecting a wider part of our most vulnerable population,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Those who are under 65 and living with comorbidities, such as cancer survivors or those living with heart disease, are at an increased risk of serious complications or death if they contract COVID-19. Illinois is advancing according to the CDC’s guidance to expand our eligible population as supply permits, moving closer to the point where the vaccine will be widely available to all who desire it. In the meantime, I encourage all Illinois residents to wear our masks and follow mitigating measures so that more of our neighbors are healthy and alive when it is their turn to get vaccinated. “

The Pritzker administration will begin working with local health departments and other providers across the state to include these additional high-risk individuals in their community vaccination plans in the coming weeks. Health departments that have substantially completed their existing Phase 1B population before the statewide expansion date of February 25 will be able to move forward earlier in determining local public health officials and IDPH.

This expansion applies to individuals aged 16 and over who are not included in the previous eligibility categories.

According to CDC guidelines, Illinois is using the guidance structure below for what qualifies as a high-risk medical condition once Phase 1B expands on February 25.

This list is subject to change as the guidance evolves and does not reflect an order of priority:

    Cancer
    Chronic Kidney Disease
    COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
    Diabetes
    Cardiac Condition
    Immunocompromised state of a solid organ transplant
    Obesity
    Pregnancy
    Lung disease
    Sickle cell anemia

To date, the state of Illinois has used more than 78 percent of its available vaccine (not including the federal government’s long-term care vaccination program and separate supply from the city of Chicago). All three vaccination efforts together have delivered approximately 1.5 million shots, including 1.15 million first shots, to date.

The current rate of positivity for seven-day evolution cases across the state of Illinois is 3.3 percent on February 10 – the lowest rate since July 2020.

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* SGOP leader Dan McConchie …

“I am pleased to know that the sickest among us and most at risk of death from COVID-19, regardless of age, will soon have access to the vaccine,” said Illinois Senate Republican leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods ). “Although the state should have provided some method from the beginning for those whose doctors have insisted that their patient’s life or health depends on vaccination, as has been the case in other states, there is now a light at the end of a very tunnel long for those most in need.

“I hope Governor Pritzker will create a more open dialogue with the legislature to take advantage of this improvement, increase the effectiveness of vaccine distribution and ensure that the state is fair and equitable for all who need it.”

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