COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expansion starts Thursday in parts of Illinois – WGN TV Chicago

CHICAGO Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that starting Thursday, eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine will expand to younger residents with certain health issues.

However, the change in eligibility isnt happening in Chicago or neighboring cities because city officials said they dont have enough shots to give out.

We still have people on the 1a list that have not been vaccinated many people in 1b that havent been vaccinated, said Karen Ayala, Executive Director of DuPage Countys Health Department. We know people in this expanded category need and deserve to have access to the vaccine. We just dont have the supply right now.

Under the Phase 1B plan, people 16-64 years old could qualify for the vaccine if they are dealing with the following conditions:

Illinois has an estimated 3.2 million people who would qualify in the 1B group.

Because of limited doses, Chicago joins Skokie as well as Cook, Lake, DuPage and Will counties who are not moving forward into the 1B phase. When it comes to pharmacies, Walmarts in Chicago said they will not expand to the 1B phase. Walgreens and Marianos said they will follow what the counties are doing.

WGN has heard that Jewel-Osco will follow state guidelines and expand to the 1B phase at their pharmacies.

State officials want people to get vaccinated in their county and are relying on the honor system for people trying to get vaccinated.

Kristina Wilson, the owner of a Chicago-area preschool tells WGN she reached out to the health department about vaccine availability. She says the process has been frustrating and disheartening.

Until my brother spent 30 hours basically hitting refresh to get every staff member covered but it shouldnt take someones family member to help early educators out, she said.

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COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expansion starts Thursday in parts of Illinois - WGN TV Chicago