The vaccination update can be watched live on the video player above.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city’s chief physician will deliver an update on the city’s coronavirus vaccination plan on Monday, according to Lightfoot’s public schedule.
Lightfoot and Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady will update during a press conference at 2 pm Monday at Esperanza Health Center, located at 4700 S. California Ave., according to the office of the mayor.
Arwady announced last week that Phase 1A of COVID-19 vaccinations could last until part of February.
During a coronavirus briefing, she said the initial groups will probably take until mid-February to vaccinate. Arwady added that, for some, they only received the first dose of the two before the city started vaccinating other populations.
“So while we are in Phase 1A, which again is December, January, February, the focus is on health professionals and residents of long-term care facilities,” said Arwady. “We are going to start getting up as I mentioned some of these major dispensing points, to be able to ensure that all healthcare professionals can be vaccinated.”
Arwady said the city will place its first mass vaccination site next week, which will allow health workers to be vaccinated more quickly.
United States surgeon general Jerome Adams, who visited Illinois on Tuesday to examine the state’s vaccine launch, said he hopes to have half the adult population across the country vaccinated by the end of February.
Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health professionals and residents of long-term care facilities are part of group 1A, or are the first people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine across the state.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health website, the following groups of individuals will be prioritized in the early stages of vaccine launch:
- Health personnel and long-term care facility residents
- Essential frontline workers, including first aid
- People with high-risk medical conditions, as well as adults over 65 years of age
So far, Chicago has vaccinated only health professionals, but has sent the vaccine to all 35 hospitals in the city. Arwady said the health department would start vaccinating at long-term care facilities on Monday.