Anyone 16 And Older Will Be Eligible For The COVID Vaccine, 150,000 New Appointments Open On Monday
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Every Illinois resident 16 and older will be eligible for the coveted COVID vaccine, beginning next week.
An additional 150,000 of new first-dose COVID vaccine appointments will be available starting Monday April 12.
Governor JB Pritzker made the announcement on Thursday as he and Doctor Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department Public Health toured the Illinois National Guard Forest Park mass vaccination site. The facility now administers more than 3,000 vaccinations per day,
The 150,000 new first-dose vaccine appointments will available at 11 state-supported mass vaccination operations throughout Cook and the collar counties starting the week of April 12 as Illinois "opens to universal eligibility for individuals 16 and older."
The state will deliver more than a quarter of a million doses next week to Cook and county sites open to all Illinois residents on top of tens of thousands of newly available appointments at hospitals, local county sites, and other mass vaccination sites throughout the region.
Mass vaccination site and pharmacy appointments for the week of Monday, April 12, will be released on Thursday and over the coming days.
"Weeks ago, we set our sights on April 12 as the date for every county receiving vaccine from the state to open to full eligibility, and I'm so proud that all 101 counties and Suburban Cook have met that timeline," said Governor Pritzker. "Today, about one year from the beginning of the pandemic, the state of Illinois alone has administered over 6.7 million doses of vaccine."
Pritzker said 73% of the state's seniors and 42% of people over the age of 16 have had at least one dose and nearly one quarter of our the state's population has been fully vaccinated.
"Our fight to stay safe and protect ourselves isn't over, but with each day and each dose, we move closer and closer to putting this pandemic to an end," Pritzker said.
Starting Monday, every Illinoisan 16 and over will be eligible to get these lifesaving vaccines. We have everything we need to get to the other side of this crisis. pic.twitter.com/Sc5qcJbM1u
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) April 8, 2021
"COVID-19 vaccination is one of the most powerful and effective tools we can use to fight this pandemic together," said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. "We now have more providers than ever before, and we are working diligently to make sure underserved communities and those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 have access to the vaccine."
The State of Illinois has set up 20 state-supported mass vaccination locations across where any Illinois resident can be vaccinated. All are by appointment only:
| County | Location | Address |
| Adams County | Oakley Lindsey Center | 300 Civic Center Dr., Quincy |
| Cook County* | North Riverside, Morton, Thornton, Arlington Heights, and others | https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov/
*Smaller Cook County sites acting as mass vax sites the week of April 12th |
| Cook County | Des Plaines K-Mart | 1155 E. Oakton St., Des Plaines |
| Cook County | Triton College | 2000 5th Ave., River Grove |
| Cook County | South Suburban College | 158000 S. State St., South Holland |
| Cook County | Tinley Park Convention Center | 18451 Convention Center Dr., Tinley Park |
| Cook County | Forest Park HOBO | 7630 W. Roosevelt Rd, Forest Park |
| DuPage County | DuPage County Health Department | 111 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton |
| Grundy County | Shabbona Middle School | 725 School St., Morris |
| Jackson County | Banterra Center | 1490 Douglas Dr., Carbondale |
| Jackson County | Carbondale Civic Center | 200 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale |
| Kane County | Batavia Sam's Club | 501 N. Randall Rd., Batavia |
| Kane County | Former Carson Pirie Scott | 970 N. Lake St., Aurora |
| Kane County | Elgin Eastside Recreation Center | 1800 E. Chicago St., Elgin |
| Lake County | At the Community Based Testing Center | 102 W. Water St., Waukegan |
| Madison County | Gateway Convention Center | 1 Gateway Dr., Collinsville |
| Sangamon County | State Fairgrounds – Orr Building | 801 E. Sangamon Ave., Springfield |
| St. Clair County | Belle-Clair Fairgrounds | 200 S. Belt E. #2650, Belleville |
| Will County | Former Toys "R" Us | 3128 Voyager Ln. Joliet |
| Winnebago County | Winnebago County Health Department | 555 N. Court St. Ste. 4, Rockford |
Information about locations and appointments can be found on the coronavirus.illinois.gov website. Residents without web access or who need help navigating service may call the toll-free IDPH hotline at 833-621-1284 to book an appointment. The hotline is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight with agents available in English and Spanish.
The state is also supporting several county mass vaccination sites that are open to residents in those counties. They also require appointments.
| County | Location | Address |
| Cook County | Chicago United Center | 1901 W. Madison St., Chicago |
| DeKalb County | NIU Convocation Center | 1525 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb |
| Lake County | Lake County Fairgrounds | 1060 E. Peterson Rd., Grayslake |
| St. Clair County | East Side Health District | East St. Louis mobile sites http://www.eastsidehealthdistrict.org/ |
| McHenry County | Former K-Mart | 1900 N. Richmond Ave., Woodstock |
| McLean County | Grossinger Motors Arena | 101 S. Madison St., Bloomington |
| Rock Island County | Camden Centre | 2701 1st St., East Milan |
| Vermilion County | Danville Community College | 2000 E. Main St., Danville |
| Vermilion County | Vermilion Regional Airport | 22633 N. Bowman Ave., Danville |
The state is also partnering with Costco, >CVS, Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco, Kroger,Mariano's, Meijer, Walgreens, and Walmart pharmacies to provide COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Costco – 2 locations
- CVS – 7 locations
- Hy-Vee – 16 locations
- Jewel-Osco – 123 locations
- Kroger – 23 locations
- Mariano's – 28 locations
- Meijer – 12 locations
- Walgreens – 538 locations
- Walmart – 113 locations
Vaccine is also available at other pharmacies, including Gerimed, HealthMart, MedShoppe, Managed Healthcare Associates, Premier/Innovatix, and 10 independent pharmacies, the state said.
The eligibility rollout plan is different for the city of Chicago, which expects to meet President Joe Biden's deadline for adult eligibility for the vaccine on April 19.