Suburban health departments disagree with Illinois’ plan to extend vaccine eligibility to people under 65 with medical conditions starting Thursday.
Suburban Cook, DuPage, Lake, McHenry and Will County health officials, as well as Chicago health officials, say vaccine stockpiles are too low to allow more people access. Many key workers and people 65 and older are still struggling to get the vaccine after becoming eligible a month ago.
“Given our limited range of vaccines, we need to make a local decision that best meets the needs of our residents,” Lake County Health Department officials said in a statement.
The health departments did not provide specific timelines for when those medically vulnerable residents could receive vaccines.
Other vaccine suppliers in those countries, such as pharmacy chains and hospital networks, are not affected by the decisions of the health departments.
Walgreens spokeswoman Emily Delnicki said pharmacies follow state guidelines and confirmed that people can go to stores outside their country for vaccination.
“When individuals arrive for an appointment, patients must sign an affidavit confirming that they meet the requirements to qualify for the vaccine,” Delnicki said. “Patients must also present a valid government ID to confirm their identity at the time of their vaccination appointment. You can choose another store outside your country as long as appointments and inventory are available.”
The Kane County Health Department did not respond to requests for information, but says on its website that it provides COVID-19 vaccinations to health professionals and key workers. The website instructs people over 65 to seek vaccines from clinics, pharmacies, hospitals and medical practices.
In Mount Prospect, Nancy Horton said the search for vaccination appointments for herself and her husband did not work out after several weeks of trying. She hopes that by delaying the vaccine for people under 65, doses will be released for her and others in the over-65s category who have been waiting since they became eligible for Jan. 25.
“It looks like we’re walking around in circles,” she said. “You look at the sites every day and get the same answer over and over. It’s just very frustrating not getting information or anything that looks like a hopeful message.”
Government JB Pritzker announced the expansion two weeks ago to qualify people with medical conditions that put them at high risk for serious cases of COVID-19, including people with cancer, kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other lung diseases, diabetes, heart problems, weakened immunity after a solid organ transplant, obesity, pregnancy and sickle cell disease.
“We don’t have the vaccine supplies to expand into (Phase) 1B-plus at this time,” said Steve Brandy, Will County Health Department spokesman. “We hope to be able to do that soon.”
Meanwhile, state health officials announced 43,282 additional vaccinations on Tuesday as the state received an additional 50,710 doses of the vaccine. State officials said they expect 500,000 new doses by the end of the week.
According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, 1,664,128 people in Illinois have received at least one dose of the vaccine so far.
IDPH officials also announced an additional 27 COVID-19 deaths, as well as 1,665 new cases of the disease.
The state’s death toll from the virus is now at 20,330, while 1,177,320 Illinoisans have been infected since the start of the pandemic.
Statewide hospitals are treating 1,488 patients for the respiratory disease. Of those hospitalized, 361 are in intensive care, according to IDPH data.