State Opens to Full 16+ Eligibility on April 12 with 150,000 Vaccine Appointments to be Made Available in Cook and Collar Counties
FOREST PARK – Governor JB Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike visited the Illinois National Guard Forest Park mass vaccination site, now providing over 3,000 vaccinations per day, to announce that an additional 150,000 new first-dose vaccine appointments will be made available at the 11 state-supported mass vaccination operations in Cook and the collar counties and area pharmacies the week of April 12, as the State opens to universal eligibility for individuals 16 and older. The state will deliver more than a quarter of a million doses next week to Cook and county sites open to all Illinois residents on top of tens of thousands of newly available appointments at hospitals, local county sites, and other mass vaccination sites throughout the region.
Mass vaccination site and pharmacy appointments for the week of Monday, April 12, will be released today and over the coming days across Cook and the collar counties.
More than 80 counties have opened eligibility to all individuals age 16 and over in advance of the April 12 timeline, as more and more residents take advantage of the more than 1,000 vaccination locations operating across the state. This includes retail pharmacies, local health department sites, state-supported mass vaccination sites, federally qualified health centers, critical access hospitals, safety net hospitals, mobile sites, rural outreach and rapid response vaccination teams.
To date, 73 percent of Illinois seniors and 42 percent of Illinoisans 16 and over have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. One quarter of the 16 and over population is fully vaccinated.
“Weeks ago, we set our sights on April 12 as the date for every county receiving vaccine from the state to open to full eligibility, and I’m so proud that all 101 counties and Suburban Cook have met that timeline,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Today, about one year from the beginning of the pandemic, the State of Illinois alone has administered over 6.7 million doses of vaccine. 73 percent of our seniors, and 42 percent of our 16 and over population, has had at least one dose. Nearly one quarter of our adult population has been fully vaccinated. Our fight to stay safe and protect ourselves isn’t over, but with each day and each dose, we move closer and closer to putting this pandemic to an end.”
“COVID-19 vaccination is one of the most powerful and effective tools we can use to fight this pandemic together,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “We now have more providers than ever before, and we are working diligently to make sure underserved communities and those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 have access to the vaccine.”
“With today’s announcement that we are expanding vaccine eligibility to anyone aged 16 and older starting on April 12, let this serve as a reminder that we’re taking one more step closer to a sense of normalcy,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “During these times, I am also proud of the all the hard work that is continuously being done to expand fair and equitable access of the COVID-19 vaccine to the residents of Cook County and all Illinois residents.”
“I am so proud of the efforts that Kane County and our partners have made to successfully open three mass vaccination sites in the last three weeks,” said Corinne Pierog, Kane County Madam Chairman. “We opened the Kane Vax Hub in Batavia, Illinois on March 19th. The Aurora-Kane Vax site opened on April 2nd and the Kane-Cook Vax site in Elgin opened on April 7th. The three sites are providing vaccination appointments throughout north, south, and central Kane County. The new sites, which are open to all Illinois residents, have vastly increased our capacity to vaccinate residents, improved our ability to reach underserved populations and provided additional transportation options. I want to thank the officials, leadership, staff, and volunteers of all of our partners for making these sites successful.”
“DuPage County continues to get as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible,” said Karen Ayala, Executive Director of DuPage County Health Department. “Currently, one out of three DuPage County residents, and four out of five residents age 65 and older have received at least one vaccine dose. As vaccine supply continues to increase, we will continue to work with the State and our healthcare partners to ensure we get vaccines into the arms of those eligible as efficiently and equitably as we can.”
“We must work together to get our community back to normal. That starts with ensuring any resident who wants the vaccine can access it to protect themselves and their loved ones,” said Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood). “People want and need to get back to work, to travel, and to visit with their friends and relatives safely. Getting vaccinated is the main key to returning to our regular society.”
State-Supported Mass Vaccination Locations
The State of Illinois has established 20 state-supported mass vaccination locations across Illinois where residents from anywhere in Illinois can be vaccinated. All state-supported vaccination sites require appointments.
Information about locations and appointments can be found on the coronavirus.illinois.gov website. Residents who don’t have access to or need assistance navigating online services can call the toll-free IDPH hotline at 833-621-1284 to book an appointment. The hotline is open 7 days a week from 6am to midnight with agents available in English and Spanish.
The state is also supporting several county mass vaccination sites that are open to residents in those counties. All state-supported vaccination sites require appointments.
Retail Pharmacies
The State of Illinois is partnering with Costco, CVS, Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco, Kroger, Mariano’s, Meijer, Walgreens, and Walmart pharmacies to provide COVID-19 vaccinations.
Costco – 2 locations
CVS – 7 locations
Hy-Vee – 16 locations
Jewel-Osco – 123 locations
Kroger – 23 locations
Mariano’s – 28 locations
Meijer – 12 locations
Walgreens – 538 locations
Walmart – 113 locations
Vaccine is also available at other pharmacies including Gerimed, HealthMart, MedShoppe, Managed Healthcare Associates, Premier/Innovatix, and 10 independent pharmacies.
Federally Qualified Health Center and Safety Net and Critical Access Hospitals
Illinois is partnering with six Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) able to provide COVID-19 vaccines with plans to expand the program to additional FQHCs ahead of Monday, April 12.
COVID-19 vaccine is also being sent to four safety net hospitals and nine critical access hospitals across the state. More hospitals will be added in the coming weeks. Information about locations and appointments can be found on the coronavirus.illinois.gov website.
Rapid Response Vaccination Teams
By Friday, April 9, Illinois will have deployed Rapid Response Vaccination Teams or resources to 14 locations across Illinois since the last week in March. Teams are deployed to areas in response to warning signs of COVID-19 resurgence, including increased hospitalizations and cases.
Rural Vaccination Program
To further expand vaccine accessibility in rural communities where travel distance can be an obstacle to vaccination, the State is sending vaccination teams with the capacity to administer thousands of vaccines. Teams have been deployed to 12counties so far and will visit three more this week.
Other providers include local health departments, hospitals, health centers, and clinics across the state.
For information on how to make an appointment to receive the vaccine, visit coronavirus.illinois.gov. For those having difficulty navigating online services to make vaccination appointments, the state’s Vaccine Appointment Call Center can help. The call center, at 1-833-621-1284, is available seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight, can take TTY calls, and uses both English and Spanish speaking call agents with the availability for translation into other languages.