More than 3 million Illinois residents are expected to be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine in the next phase of state implementation.
Government JB Pritzker said he plans to announce somewhere this week when the state will enter Phase 1B, although some areas may already do so. Moving on to the next phase, however, will not mean that those eligible in the first phase will still not be able to receive the vaccine.
‘I expect to make a formal announcement later this week about when Illinois
Pritzker switched to Phase 1B during his coronavirus update on Monday. ‘Of course, anyone in Phase 1A who prefers not to be vaccinated will always be able to act during any subsequent round – it’s about leaving no vaccine on the shelves as we move forward. ‘
Phase 1B focuses on residents 65 and older and ‘essential workers’, including first responders, education workers such as teachers and support staff, childminders, grocery stores, postal service workers and more.
The age requirement in Illinois is ten years lower than the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, “to reduce COVID-19 deaths and limit the spread of the community into black and colored communities,” the governor said.
Phase 1B, according to the state, will include about 3.2 million Illinois residents.
Illinois as a whole administered approximately 334,939 doses of vaccinations on Sunday night.
“We are making significant progress in Phase 1A and I appreciate the hard work of healthcare providers across the state to move through this phase as quickly as possible,” Pritzker said. “In some communities, they were even able to substantially complete Phase 1A. IDPH allows any local health department to move into that position in the early stages of Phase 1B, because we want to make sure any available vaccine is quickly given to the priority groups we have laid out.”
Chicago health officials said they expect Phase 1B to begin in the city in February or March.
“A lot depends on how fast the vaccine comes to us,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Department of Public Health, said in Chicago. “We are currently getting about 32,000 doses of first doses of vaccine per week. You think about how many people there are over 65 – 370,000 – how many essential workers – hundreds of thousands, 150,000, just in education – there will have to be but patient here. But I would expect that we would probably start within the period from February to March, and then we would continue to vaccinate for the next few months. “
Here is a look at who will be included in Phase 1B:
- Residents 65 years and older
- Frontline Essential Workers, meaning “residents who are at higher risk for COVID-19 exposure due to their work duties, often because they are unable to work from home, and / or now have to work for others without take a social distance, which includes:
- First responders: Fire, law enforcement, 911 workers, security personnel, school officials
- Education: Teachers, principals, student support, student aids, day care worker
- Food and agriculture: Processing, plants, veterinary health, livestock services, animal care
- Manufacture: Industrial production of goods for distribution to retail, wholesale or other products
- Corrections workers and prisoners: Prison officers, youth staff, personal support workers, prisoners
- USPS workers
- Public transport workers: Flight staff, bus drivers, train conductors, taxi drivers, para-transit drivers, personal support, ride-sharing services
- Grocery Stores: Excavators, cashiers, stockers, bakkie, customer service
- Shelters and day care staff: Homeless shelter, women’s shelter, adult / day delivery program, sheltered workshop, psychosocial rehabilitation