United States’ COVID 19 vaccine appointments can now be booked at Zocdoc.com/vaccine and by phone, while a new website in Des Plaines is also accepting new appointments.
A total of 110,000 consultations were made available for the United Center’s mass vaccination site. The first appointments opened at 8:30 am on Thursday for the elderly. After the enrollment period for seniors, anyone eligible for a vaccine as part of the Phase 1B + group can start scheduling appointments at 4pm on Sunday, March 7.
By 3pm, 27,819 seniors had signed up for appointments at the United Center.
To sign up for a United Center appointment, visit www.zocdoc.com/vaccine or call the multilingual hotline (312) 746-4835 from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday to Saturday and 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on Sundays.
“I think it is a fairer system to put all availability in one place, rather than having hidden pockets where you need to work the system or work on your connections,” said Oliver Kharraz, founder and CEO of Zocdoc.
The Chicago Department of Public Health and the Chicago Fire Department are partnering on a pilot program that will bring vaccines for elderly people living at home. Paramedics administer vaccines at residents’ homes if they are unable to travel to the vaccination site. Interested parties can respond to a survey at: https://redcap.link/MobileCOVIDVax.
While tens of thousands of bookings are available, organizers are asking for patience, as the massive demand threatens to overwhelm the system; the online registration portal crashed during the first half hour it was open.
“Some people were unable to answer immediately, you know, just a sign of how much demand there is for consultations,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, a commissioner in the Chicago Department of Public Health. “But, you know, in about 20 to 30 minutes, everything was working again and going well.”
For Paul Penzick, 70, registration was very easy; it only took about 10 minutes for him to register for the appointment when he tried around 9am
“I was expecting a nightmare and it just flew,” he said. “I’m not so relieved. I’m not frustrated anymore.”
Gabriel Alvavara drove from Prospect Heights to the United Center website. He came looking for a number to call to secure a spot for when the site opens next week. He has diabetes and cholesterol problems.
“I work at Goodwill and I’m scared because everyone has the second and I need the first,” said Alvavara.
At 8:30 am, Zocdoc was ready and working for seniors 65 and older to schedule their first vaccine at the United Center. Alvavara called the multilingual line 200 times to no avail.
ABC7 tried to make an appointment at Zocdoc, only to be sent in circles.
“I don’t know what happened right now here in Chicago, but I’m looking for someone to help me,” said Alvavara.
Alvavara managed to speak to the line at 10 am and was put on hold.
An organization trying to help immigrants and undocumented people to register online also said the system was frustrating. The alternative, calling the phone line, was even worse.
“We’ve been waiting for so long, you know, 20, 30, 40 minutes trying to talk to someone,” said Sarah Walker of the Right 2 Family Vaccine Campaign. And in the end, they never made it to the hotline.
Dr. Arwady said the system is equipped to handle around 600 calls at any one time, so the amount of demand will affect how easy or difficult it is to answer.
“But keep calling,” she said. “There are commitments and then we are going to work to get people in.”
Several people came to the United Center who were confused by all the information from the past weeks and days.
Ferry Jordan thought she had an appointment and could be vaccinated on Thursday, appearing only to be rejected.
“But everything is fine with all this mass vaccination,” said Jordan. “I can understand that. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but you ask questions and keep trying.”
Authorities emphasized that appointments cannot be made on site and must be made online or over the phone.
Zocdoc expects that all 110,000 vaccine consultations at the UC will be scheduled by Thursday, with demand estimated at 300 bookings per minute, or more than 18,000 per hour.
“I think there is a fair chance that all 110,000 will go,” said Kharraz. “I think there is still much more demand for the vaccine than there is supply.”
ABC 7 learned that part of these markings, up to 19%, will be dedicated to the call center. But some want the system to do more to reach communities of color.
“A weighted lottery system,” suggested Dr. Marina Del Rios, of Vaccine Corp Partnership. “Or, at least, have a list of priority people. If you are in these particular postal codes and in these communities in particular, you will have the first rights.”
WATCH | Mass vaccination site of Des Plaines scheduled to open Thursday
Located in an old K-Mart store, the new mass vaccination site in Des Plaines is one of the largest, if not the largest, in the northwestern suburbs. It opens on Thursday and authorities hope to start vaccination on Friday or Saturday for people in Phase 1B.
Appointments to the Des Plaines mass vaccination site can be made from Thursday at 1 pm at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or by calling (833) 308-1988. The site will be open from Monday to Friday, from 7 am to 7 pm
Cook County Council President Toni Preckwinkle was accompanied by other civil servants as she visited this new location at 1155 East Oakton Street in Des Plaines on Wednesday.
The National Guard-supported site will be the first in Cook County to use the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The county expects 18,000 doses of J&J to arrive from the federal government on Thursday. The goal is to vaccinate up to 3,500 people a day.
“Because Johnson & Johnson is a single dose vaccine, patients don’t have to worry about scheduling a second appointment,” said Israel Rocha Jr., CEO of Cook County Health. “This is an advantage that we can have to ensure that we can see even more individuals on sites like today.”
“We will continue to ask for patience in this vaccination process. As we know, the supply of the vaccine has been limited and, although it is improving, we are still unable to meet the demand,” said Preckwinkle.
This Des Plaines site is the fourth large-scale vaccination center in the suburb of Cook County, joining facilities in Tinley Park, River Grove and South Holland. This is in addition to National Guard-supported locations at various Cook County health centers.
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