Eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine will be expanded to all Illinois residents over the age of 16, except those in the city of Chicago, starting April 12, Governor JB Pritzker announced Thursday.
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Pritzker and Illinois department of public health, made the announcement during a COVID-19 update that also revealed a new framework for the state’s reopening plan.
All Illinois residents over the age of 16 are eligible for vaccination as of April 12, Pritzker said, adding that state officials will be making more information available in the coming days about certain populations eligible for that latest expansion.
“By that date, all state-sponsored mass vaccination sites, local health departments, pharmacy partners – in short, any jurisdiction that receives vaccine from the state of Illinois – will be instructed to move to widespread eligibility,” Pritzker’s office said. in a statement.
All vaccinations remain by appointment only, officials said, noting that “making an appointment to get an injection may take time.”
Pritzker’s office also noted that residents who are currently not eligible for the vaccine will not be able to book an appointment for a future date, asking for patience in the days and weeks after April 12, as the number of appointments may be “limited. is.
For a complete list of where and how to book an appointment in Illinois or where to get vaccine information for your area, click here.
That April 12 date is ahead of the timeline set out by President Joe Biden earlier this month, saying he would order states to make all adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1.
Pritzker said last week that he was “confident” in the progress of the vaccine supply and that he believed the state could meet that deadline.
Illinois began what has been called Phase 1B Plus of its vaccine rollout plan late last month, expanding its suitability for individuals with certain high-risk medical conditions and co-morbidities. That is in addition to the already eligible health and long-term care facility staff and residents qualified in Phase 1A, plus the primary care workers and residents 65 and older who were eligible for the earlier iteration of phase 1B.
For a full list of who is eligible for vaccination in Phase 1B Plus, click here.
But when the state entered Phase 1B Plus, several jurisdictions, including the city of Chicago, suburban Cook County, and several other counties in the area, announced that they would not qualify along with the rest of Illinois, citing a low vaccine supply.
Chicago officials announced on Wednesday that the city will move into Phase 1C, which will include all remaining essential workers, as well as all adults with qualifying health conditions, as scheduled on March 29.
Because Chicago receives its stock of vaccine from the federal government that is assigned separately from the state, the city is operating according to its own framework and timetable and will not extend eligibility to all adults with the rest of the state on April 12.
Illinois officials said Thursday that the state has administered more than 4.3 million doses of the available COVID-19 vaccines since the vaccinations began in December, currently averaging about 100,000 doses per day as supply has increased.