[ad_1]
Illinois health officials on Friday announced the launch of a statewide coronavirus vaccination appointment registration addition on their website, which is expected to deliver doses more efficiently.
“As we increase the capacity to make the vaccine widely available, we will be launching a statewide website to provide more information so you can schedule an appointment to get the vaccine,” said the Illinois Governor JB Pritzker at a press conference.
Residents of Illinois can already access the state’s coronavirus website, which provides the vaccination plan, the Restore Illinois plan, and information on the pandemic. Once appointments are available, residents can access a link to their local health care provider to coordinate when and where to get the vaccine.
Pritzker added that some pharmacies, such as Walgreens, already have an online appointment website, while others are expected to follow shortly.
“Although appointments are difficult to get for a while, deadlines will become more and more available as our state receives an increasing number of doses,” he said.
Pritzker announced last week that the state would begin its next phase of vaccination, also known as phase 1B, on January 25. Phase 1B will include approximately 3.2 million Illinois residents, according to the state.
Phase 1B includes anyone over the age of 65, as well as essential frontline workers who have been prioritized, such as first responders, people working in correctional facilities, grocery store workers, daycare workers. , people who work in manufacturing establishments, educators and others. in schools, public transport workers, postal workers and others.
Pritzker said last week that the state would support “hundreds of vaccination sites across the state, including retail drugstore chains, Illinois National Guard mobile teams, vaccination sites from mass state-run hospitals in northern, central and southern Illinois, and emergency care centers. , and finally, doctors’ offices and large employers who can host their own clinics in the workplace
The Illinois National Guard has also been activated to help local health departments expand vaccination clinics, Pritzker said, with the first two teams deployed to Cook County Department of Health sites.
Starting Jan. 25, sites run by the National Guard will begin vaccinating residents eligible for Phase 1B, as well as CVS, Jewel Osco and Walgreens sites, Pritzker said.
All of these vaccination sites will be by appointment only, Pritzker said, asking residents not to queue at the store or call their local pharmacies, but instead use the website once available.
Chicago is currently preparing to enter the next phase of vaccination with the rest of Illinois on Monday, opening doses to frontline workers and people over 65.
But the city’s top doctor warned on Thursday that appointments for those who qualify will be “very limited”, calling for patience as she said most people who qualify for vaccinations in this next phase will probably have to wait “several weeks”.
Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner Dr Allison Arwady said the city was not receiving doses “close enough” from the federal government to vaccinate all eligible people – a trend that has been playing out across the country since. the start of shipments last month.
“Let me point out that we don’t have enough vaccines to vaccinate somewhere near the number of people who will want to be vaccinated from Monday,” Arwady said. “I am delighted that there is so much demand here. We are not wasting any vaccine, we have not wasted any vaccine in Chicago in one day, we will not waste any vaccine in the future.”
But she noted that Chicago has more than 360,000 residents over the age of 65 and more than 300,000 people who are employed in some of the areas eligible to be vaccinated in Phase 1B.
Arwady said Thursday that there were four ways residents could get vaccinated against COVID-19: through their medical system or health care provider, through pharmacies, through a dedicated vaccination location like outlets distribution, or through their employer.
Arwady said the first way, through residents’ individual medical systems, is how most people will be immunized. This includes primary care physicians, federally qualified health centers, hospitals and other health care systems, she said, noting that many of these systems were already contacting “some of their most vulnerable patients” for information. make an appointment.
Arwady said of the second way, via pharmacies, that the city had listed more than 100 pharmacies across Chicago and would share more information on Monday on how to sign up for an appointment that way.
The third route will be through mass vaccination sites like Chicago’s “POD” sites, Arwady said. The city had launched six of the PODs at City Colleges, which it said are still aimed at healthcare workers, not the general public, and by appointment only.
Arwady said the fourth way Chicagoans can get vaccinated, through their employers, has been the way she’s received the most questions.
Earlier in the week, Arwady released new details about the city’s vaccine distribution plan, including tentative dates for the start of each of the next phases, with the goal of opening vaccinations to all Chicagoans of over 16 years by the end of May.
Arwady announced in a livestream on Tuesday that the city will tentatively seek to enter Phase 1C on March 29, followed by Phase 2 on May 31.
Phase 1C includes all essential workers not covered in previous phases, as well as Chicagoans aged 16 to 64 who have underlying medical conditions, Arwady said.
“With regard to phase 2, which is actually when a vaccine is available to everyone in Chicago, we are tentatively saying it could start on May 31, the end of May. All of these numbers for Phase 1C and Phase 2 are subject to change, but just to give people a sense of what we think are high-level, ”Arwady said.
Arwady noted again on Thursday that those who qualify for Phase 1B vaccinations, which are expected to start on Monday, do not have to register yet, but the option could be available soon.
Chicago officials say the best way to get immunization rollout updates is to use “Chi COVID Coach,” a platform the Chicago Department of Public Health uses to monitor symptoms , giving information about testing in the city, and helping you get the latest details on the city’s immunization plan – including notification when you can sign up to receive your vaccine.
You can sign up for Chi COVID Coach here.
[ad_2]
Source link