More than 100,000 appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations at the United Center’s new mass vaccination site opened on Thursday. Here’s a look at what you need to know, including how to sign up:
Appointments are open exclusively to Illinois residents 65 and older at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, government JB Pritzker said, adding that there are two ways to sign up:
- To register online, visit Zocdoc.com/vaccine. The site is expected to handle much higher appointment requests. Zocdoc will show the availability of appointments in real time and eligible residents can then choose a date / time and book an appointment online. Date of birth will be required when booking an appointment to confirm the vaccination.
- To register telephonically, call (312) 746-4835. A multilingual call center will be available to help seniors make an appointment from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Given the expected high demand for appointments, residents who can use the site should book their appointments online. The call center has 200 staff members, but those who have to use the call center will most likely experience long waiting times.
The exclusive registration period for seniors will be open until Sunday afternoon, said dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said in a Facebook Live update on Tuesday.
“Appointments will only be open to the elderly, 65 and older, from Thursday at 08:30 to Sunday at 16:00. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday it is time for you to be older than 65, you know someone older if 65, please help them make an appointment, ‘Arwady said.
“Once we get to Sunday, if we do not see all the appointments that people are over 65, then we start on Sunday at 16:00 for people with underlying conditions,” Arwady added.
A coalition of federal, state and local officials announced last week that the United Center will be transformed into a mass vaccination site under a new federal pilot program, which opens on March 10.
Pritzker said Tuesday that the site would be opened on a limited basis a day earlier, on March 9, and fully open the next day. Arwady said early opening was made possible based on “how some of the resources come in.”
The United Center site will operate eight weeks seven days a week and be able to deliver 6,000 shots a day at full capacity, officials said, pointing out that vaccinations would be by appointment only and that demand was expected to be high. These doses will be provided directly by the federal government and will not be inferred from the offer sent to Chicago or Illinois.
Vaccinations are offered free of charge and insurance is not required, nor will they be requested on the premises, Pritzker’s office said.
Officials also stressed that Uber offers 20,000 free rides to and from the United Center for Chicago residents who need transportation assistance. After a Chicago resident booked an appointment with Zocdoc, they received a confirmation email asking if they needed transportation. If so, they will receive a $ 40 Uber credit that will only work for rides to and from the venue.
Arwady noted on Tuesday that the first few weeks of the site will take place, but that there are plans to add a start-up component in the coming weeks.
After the special registration period registered exclusively for the elderly, the site will be open to all Illinois residents – not just those living in Chicago – who are currently eligible for vaccinations under the current Phase 1B Plus of the state vaccination vaccination plan.
The state last week expanded Phase 1B guidelines, allowing the inclusion of people with certain high-risk medical conditions and comorbidities.
The list of high-risk qualifying medical conditions (which are subject to change) includes:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Diabetes
- Heart condition
- Immuno-compromised State of a solid organ transplant
- Smoke
- Obesity
- Pregnancy
- Lung disease
- Sickle cell disease
Previously under the previous iteration phase 1B, residents 65 years and older, as well as essential workers, were eligible to receive the vaccine. Here’s a look at those who have already qualified under 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 facilities staff, personal support workers, prisonersU
- 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
While the state has expanded its Phase 1B, many counties, health departments, and hospital systems – including Chicago and Cook County – have said they will not join the rest of Illinois to be more eligible, citing the low vaccine supply for those who already qualify. The United Center will be the only vaccination site where Chicago and Cook County residents eligible for Phase 1B Plus will be able to be vaccinated.
The United Center is one of 18 “federally established community vaccination centers” across the country that were highlighted by President Joe Biden’s government on Friday as recently opened or opened in the coming weeks, allowing a combined 61,000 shots a day at full capacity.
These sites, including the United Center, were selected based on a range of criteria, including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index.
The index helps officials identify and map communities that are likely to be needed before, during and after a hazardous event, taking into account critical data points, including socioeconomic status, household composition, minority status, languages, type of housing and transport, ‘said the White House.
Chicago and Cook County have been identified as a ‘significantly medically underserved and marginalized population’, the White House said, adding that the United Center is located in a ‘central and accessible’ area with nearby public transportation and high walking distance.
“The site will serve up to 2.9 million people living within a 30-minute drive,” the White House said, noting that 22,000 people live within one mile of the arena.
“The United Center is one of the best places to vaccinate a large number of people in America: it’s easy to reach, is in the midst of a medically subordinate community, can handle large crowds, and is all known in Illinois,” “Pritzker said in a statement last week.
‘I am very grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for the close cooperation with us in bringing about this high-capacity website, and I am particularly proud to have worked together to prioritize seniors in this process and to bring us so much closer to to end this pandemic, ”he continued.