* Joint statement by Lori Lightfoot, Mayor of Chicago, and Toni Preckwinkle, Chairman of the Board of Cook, …
Our goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible. That said, our biggest challenge in doing so is the very limited amount of vaccine we receive. As we progress daily in vaccinating people in 1a and 1b, we are not currently given enough doses to enable us to be eligible in these phases.
If you do that in Chicago and Cook County, there will be more than one million people added to 1b, and the result would be that those who are currently eligible, including the elderly, essential workers, and those in our communities with the heaviest suffering, a harder time getting a vaccine.
These phases were determined after thorough study and consideration, and are based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We recognize that the governor must make difficult choices and consider needs in this diverse state, but given the limited supply of vaccine, we must also make the difficult choices as the leaders of the most populous city and province in the state. We look forward to increasing the suitability as the vaccine supply improves.
* WTTW …
The Minister of Public Health in Chicago, dr. Allison Arwady, said Wednesday the city is getting just enough vaccine for 5 to 10% of Chicago residents who are already eligible.
Expanding the suitability could make sense in other parts of Illinois, where there is ample supply, Arwady said.
According to the city’s vaccination plan, all essential workers as well as Chicago people 16 years and older with underlying health problems will be eligible to be vaccinated from March 29 if there is enough stock.
More than 900,000 Chicago residents would be eligible in the next phase of the effort, Arwady said. But the city does not have enough vaccine to meet the demand, she added.
I do not think there is enough supply everywhere, but the doses are going to increase soon and the governor’s people say that they are finally getting reliable shipping estimates from the White House.
The governor is speaking at 10 a.m. in Elgin, so we need to know more soon. I will update this post.
* Meanwhile …
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she would allow pubs and restaurants in Chicago to increase the number of people serving them indoors.
But the city will continue to impose stricter restrictions on restaurants than the looser rules the state allows elsewhere.
… Add… Pritzker press release …
The number of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination sites in Illinois continues to increase. Since yesterday, more than 340 new retail pharmacies have been added to the list of COVID-19 vaccination sites available to the public. There are now more than 850 vaccination rooms in Illinois that are open to the public. The new sites contain 339 Walgreens stores in Illinois, which receive vaccine from a federal grant and not from the state grant. In addition, four CVS locations are added.
More information here.
*** UPDATE *** Emily Bittner …
The governor believes that the most medically vulnerable in our state should qualify for vaccination as soon as possible, and that it would be unfair to deny medically vulnerable people like cancer patients in Illinois. Although the supply of vaccines is limited throughout the country, the pipeline has started to increase and there are almost 100 million more doses on hand. Federal leadership already includes this vulnerable group, and the governor is particularly invested in expanding access because this group contains an excessively large proportion of vulnerable coloreds.
The section on federal leadership is the key there.
Background …
The Johnson and Johnson vaccine could be approved within a few weeks, and 100 million doses of the vaccine are expected to be distributed nationwide.
The federal government has already increased the supply of vaccine sent to states in the past week and started delivering more doses to pharmacies across the state.
With these promising developments, other states have begun to expand Phase 1B in line with federal guidance, and some local health departments across the state have already expressed their willingness to move to the next priority group in the coming weeks.
The state of Illinois works with local health departments to ensure they have the necessary resources to administer doses as quickly as possible to those in need.
This critical step gives local health departments the ability to make plans to open appointments for this group of vulnerable residents.