Many Illinois residents who have yet to receive the COVID-19 vaccine have grown increasingly frustrated in their attempts to secure appointments. NBC 5’s Christian Farr reports.
On Sunday afternoon, eligibility for appointments at the mass COVID vaccination site at the United Center opened up to all Chicago residents who are 18 years of age or older and who have pre-existing health conditions.
In a significant change, appointments via Zocdoc will only be available to residents who live in the city of Chicago. According to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office, the change was made at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Association to better ensure that vaccine appointments would be available to “vulnerable populations” in the city itself.
Anyone age 18 and over with underlying medical conditions, including cancer, diabetes, obesity and other comorbidities, is eligible to sign up for appointments.
For residents in suburban Cook County hoping to sign up for vaccine appointments at the United Center, slots will be allocated through Cook County’s COVID vaccine website beginning later this week. The process to apply for those appointments will be announced in the coming days, according to officials.
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Individuals who can’t access the website can call 833-308-1988 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to officials.
Some of the remaining doses from the United Center mass vaccination site will also be given to mobile vaccination teams, and will be made available in areas hardest hit by the pandemic, according to officials. More details on those sites will be made available in the coming weeks.
