As the number of COVID cases decreases, the number of people in Chicago receiving the vaccine is increasing – even people not classified in the current Phase 1B, which is the elderly and essential workers. Marie Saavedra reports from CBS 2.
Video transcription
IRIKA SARGENT: It may be hard to believe the next claim, but one in ten people living in Chicago has already received the first COVID vaccine, according to the city. At first, it seems unlikely that we will ever reach that point, and now we are learning that people as young as 18 with no health problems are getting the injection. Everything is part of a strategy planned and promoted in a handful of communities. That includes Belmont Cragin, where CBS2’s Marie Saavedra joins us live tonight. Marie.
MARIE SAAVEDRA: Irika, we know that many people out there probably spent hours frantically updating sites today trying to get a consultation for themselves or a loved one who is now eligible for a vaccine, but we learned that in important communities within the city of Chicago, the vaccine is available without having to follow these distribution guidelines.
It all started with our website, CBSChicago.com, where a city official clicked on news tips. They asked us to omit their names so as not to lose their jobs, but reported that the city is providing COVID vaccines to four neighborhoods to anyone aged 18 and over, without the need for identity. Would this be possible in a time of vaccine hunters and 1A and 1B? The answer is yes. Chicago’s best doctor confirmed it.
ALLISON ARWADY: We are not strictly limited to these phases.
MARIE SAAVEDRA: Dr. Allison Arwady says she is part of the Protect Chicago Plus program, which has identified these 15 neighborhoods that need the vaccine most.
ALLISON ARWADY: These are the communities that have really been hit hardest by COVID, have more barriers to vaccination, things like little primary care, not much insurance, many underlying diseases.
MARIE SAAVEDRA: Another factor? Many families with several generations, that is why this brochure from the Chicago Department of Health invites those over 18 who live in Belmont Cragin, zip code 60639, to come and get vaccinated, without the need for identity or insurance. It’s happening at Steinmetz College Prep.
ALLISON ARWADY: And we will continue to provide vaccines while we continue to see these neighborhoods being able to keep up with what we are seeing in the rest of the city.
MARIE SAAVEDRA: When writing to us, our informant thought this was very wrong, saying that her 64-year-old husband with underlying health problems cannot get the vaccine. For those who think these clinics are unfair, Dr. Arwady says so.
ALLISON ARWADY: Getting more, you know, an equal amount of vaccine in our most affected areas in Chicago, in turn, helps to protect everyone in Chicago, so it’s the right public health strategy too.
MARIE SAAVEDRA: There are three more neighborhoods with 18 or more vaccination sites. They are, according to the Department of Public Health, Gage Park, North Lawndale, and one will open tomorrow in Little Village. Now, I asked where these locations were and the department wouldn’t tell me. Here’s why. They say this is for residents only. They are going door-to-door in some cases or publicizing it through community organizations, just to get you to those who really need those specific zip codes and to keep everyone else out, Irika.
IRIKA SARGENT: OK, so Marie, you were mentioning the short list there. Does the city hope to create more such sites in an effort to contain the spread?
MARIE SAAVEDRA: They do. It will be a launch here, but they hope to put all 15 neighborhoods that are on the significant Protect Chicago Plus there to get one of those 18 or more vaccination sites at some point. So again, keep in touch with community leaders, because this is how people will find out about them first.
IRIKA SARGENT: Okay, Maria Saavedra alive for us. Thanks.