Chicago and Cook County will not join Illinois in expanding who is eligible for Phase 1B coronavirus vaccinations later this month, officials said on Thursday.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Council President announced the decision in a joint statement, saying the city and county are not receiving enough doses of the vaccine to allow for expansion of eligibility along with the rest of the state in a decision. Gov. JB Pritzker announced the day before.
“Our goal is to vaccinate as many people as quickly and efficiently as possible. That said, our biggest challenge in doing so is the very limited supply of vaccine we are receiving. As we are progressing every day with vaccinating people in 1a and 1b, we are not currently receiving enough doses that would allow us to expand eligibility in these phases, “says the statement.
“Doing this in Chicago and Cook County would add well over a million people to 1b, and the result would be that those currently qualified, including the elderly, essential frontline workers and those in our most burdened communities with COVID, would have even more difficult to get a vaccine, “continued Lightfoot and Preckwinkle.
“These phases were established after careful study and consideration and are based on the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We recognize that the governor must make difficult choices and consider the needs across this diverse state, but given the limited supply of vaccine, we must also make difficult choices as leaders of the city and the state’s most populous county. We hope to expand eligibility as vaccine supplies increase. “
Pritzker announced on Wednesday that Illinois would increase eligibility for Phase 1B starting February 25, allowing people with “a high-risk medical condition” or comorbidity to be vaccinated. The list includes people with cancer, diabetes, obesity, pregnant women and people with several other illnesses.
“In light of an increasing federal supply of vaccines, Illinois is making plans to expand Phase 1B eligibility on February 25 for people with CDC-defined underlying conditions and comorbidities,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “In addition, Illinois will also prioritize individuals with disabilities.”
“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,” said Pritzker in a statement. “Illinois is advancing according to the CDC’s guidance to expand our eligible population as the offer allows, bringing us closer to the point where the vaccine is widely available to everyone who wants 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 expansion applies to those aged 16 and over who were not covered by previous eligibility categories, the state said, adding that it plans to work with local health departments and other providers as eligibility increases. (Here is a complete list of who is eligible).
For a complete view of where and how you can make an appointment in Illinois or where you can receive vaccine information for your area, click here.
Already, more than 3.2 million Illinois residents are eligible for vaccination under Phase 1B, which includes people aged 65 and over, as well as “essential frontline workers”.
Despite repeated claims that the state was struggling to vaccinate those in Phase 1B due to limited supply, Pritzker announced a 5% dose increase just this week, saying “as soon as we get enough vaccine supplies, we don’t need to waste time to protect a wider section of our most vulnerable population. “
Still, even when Illinois announced more than 100 new vaccination sites last week, officials continued to ask for patience on Wednesday, saying the vaccine supply was limited.
“We are limited by the amount of vaccine available and allocated by the federal government,” the governor’s office said in a statement ahead of Pritzker’s announcement of eligibility. “Vaccines are only available by appointment at this time and we encourage people to come back frequently to see if there are any open appointments. Until the supply is increased, there will be great demand and we ask people to be patient ”.
Dr. Allison Arwady, a commissioner in the Chicago Department of Public Health, predicted Lightfoot and Preckwinkle’s decision on Wednesday, saying the city only received enough vaccine to administer doses to 5-10% of those currently eligible.
Chicago health officials previously released an interim schedule of vaccination phases, originally planning to move to Phase 1C on March 29, followed by Phase 2 on May 31. Phase 1C includes all essential workers not covered in the previous phases, as well as Chicago citizens between the ages of 16 and 64 who have underlying medical conditions. But Arwady said earlier this week that Phase 1C could be delayed based on the offer.
“The reason why we really look at the end of March is based on where we hope to have more vaccine,” said Arwady on Wednesday. “I think it would be very appropriate, if there are parts of the state, for example, that may have already finished their 1B – they got all their parents over 65, they got their essential workers – if there is any state where vaccine appointments are not filled out, of course it would be appropriate to move on. But here in Chicago, if we add more people now to 1B, all we’ll do is make it more difficult for people who are already eligible to get that vaccine, and it would be more difficult for us to take it to people over 65, it would make it more difficult for us to place it in the most affected communities because it only dilutes the amount that is available. “