Lightfoot has given a few other examples of people eligible for 1C, including restaurant and hotel workers, hairdressers, clergy, and delivery and warehouse workers. The city will continue to vaccinate eligible people in 1A and 1B, as well as the elderly, one of the most vulnerable populations.
“You have to wear a face mask when you go out. This is critical, the most important tool we have to help prevent the spread of the virus,” the mayor said.
The Chicago vaccination campaign began on December 15, covering health workers as well as residents and staff in long-term care facilities. Phase 1B, which included essential workers at the front and those over 65, kicked off on January 25th.
But officials have stopped expanding fitness for ages 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions. While other parts of the state made the population eligible, Chicago and Cook County officials both cited a low bid as the reason they did not move forward.
On March 16, 10.4 percent of Chicago’s population was fully vaccinated, and 19.3 percent received their first dose.
Chicago lags behind the state average: 12.6 percent of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated.
Chicago’s test positivity rate was slightly higher last week. It is now 2.9 percent, compared to a seven-day moving average of 2.7 last week. It’s still well below the city’s target positivity of 5 percent, but average daily falls are also 10 percent higher than last week. The city has an average of 292 cases per day, up from 266 last week. Arwady said she would like to see the number fall below 200.
Arwady also sought to dispel rumors on social media that doses were being wasted on the FEMA-controlled United Center website or that the suitability there had been changed to use the available doses.
“No vaccine is going to be wasted in the United Center, and yes, we are capable at the United Center. We book up to 5,700 appointments a day,” she said. The site still only offers Pfizer vaccine. “There’s the ability to do a full 6,000. We kept it at 5,700, partly because we’ll open a driveway next week.”
Chicago’s list of underlying conditions that qualify people for 1C is slightly broader than that of the state, Arwady said. The state allows those with diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, chronic kidney disease and cancer; recipients of solid organ transplants, pregnant women, smokers and the disabled who were not covered in previous stages to receive a vaccine. The city could also include people with HIV, liver disease, obesity (a body mass index older than 30) and schizophrenia.
The Cook County Department of Public Health also announced that suburban Cook will move to Phase 1B + on Monday, March 22nd.
Eligible underlying conditions include: cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), diabetes, heart disease, obesity, lung disease, sickle cell disease, as well as individuals with disabilities, pregnant women, smokers and those immune to an organ transplant.
“Over the past few weeks, we have seen great progress in vaccinating vulnerable groups in Phase 1b, including our seniors,” said Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer and co-leader of the Cook County Department of Public Health, said in a release More than 68 percent of seniors in the suburbs of Cook have received their first dose. More information here.
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