Chicago and Illinois officials announced Tuesday that more than 100,000 appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations will be opened at the United Center’s new mass vaccination site.
Appointments will be opened exclusively at 8:30 a.m. Thursday for Illinois residents who are 65 years and older, government JB Pritzker said in a statement, pointing out that there will be 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. To help bridge the digital divide, a multilingual call center will be available to help seniors make an appointment. This call center is available Monday to Saturday from 08:00 to 20:00 and Sunday 08:00 to 16:00. Given the high expected demand for appointments, residents who can use the site need to 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.
Appointments will initially only be open to seniors during an exclusive registration period until Sunday afternoon, said dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s Department of Public Health, said in a Facebook Live update Tuesday morning.
“Appointments are only open to people 65 and older,” Arwady said. “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. ‘
“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 room 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.
Arwady also noted on Tuesday that Uber is offering 20,000 free rides to and from the United Center for Chicago residents who need transportation assistance. She said the first few weeks of the site will take place, but that there are plans to add a startup component in the coming weeks.
Following the special registration period that is open exclusively to seniors that opens Thursday, 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 deployment plan of the state.
The state last week expanded Phase 1B guidelines, taking into account 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
- 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 exposure to COVID-19 because of their job responsibilities, 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 You
- 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 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, have been 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 30 minutes,” 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.