State Launching New Mass Vaccination Sites in Multiple Suburbs for All Eligible Illinois Residents

Four suburban mass vaccination sites are expected to open to all eligible Illinois residents this week.

New locations are set to open in Kane, Lake and Will counties with another site in Grundy County expanding to all eligible state residents regardless of where they live.

“As we continue to get more and more vaccine from the federal government, I’m proud to launch four additional state-supported large mass vaccination sites open to all eligible Illinoisans to ensure residents can receive their vaccines as efficiently and equitably as possible,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement.

According to the governor's office, the new vaccination sites include:

April 1: Community based testing center located at 102 W. Water Street, Waukegan in Lake County. Details here.

April 2: Former Carson Pirie Scott, located at 970 North Lake St., Aurora in Kane County. Details here.

April 2: Former Toys R Us, located at 3128 Voyager Lane, Joliet in Will County. Details here.

Each site will offer vaccines to any eligible Illinois resident, regardless of ZIP code, the governor's office said. The Grundy County vaccination location at Shabbona Middle School will also expand its eligibility.

In addition, a vaccination site is set to expand in McHenry County, with the assistance of the National Guard, but only those who live and work in the county will be eligible, the state noted.

The site is located inside a former K-Mart located at 1900 N. Richmond Ave. (Details here)

Pritzker touted an influx of vaccine doses set to arrive in the state this week as vaccine eligibility expanded Monday to include additional essential workers.

Food and beverage workers, construction trade workers and religious leaders will be eligible, according to guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health. On March 22, the state expanded eligibility to include higher education staff, government workers and media.

“Over 3.6 million Illinoisans have already received their first dose of vaccine. We’re projected to get nearly 1 million doses this week, and IDPH and our 97 local health departments working hard to administer these shots. However, this battle is far from over, and with new cases and hospitalizations on the rise, I encourage every resident to buckle down, wear your mask, and do your part so we can all power through to the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Health officials said the state made the decision to launch the sites with expanded ZIP code eligibility to "reverse early signs of a possible resurgence of COVID-19 cases."

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday authorized counties in the state seeing low COVID vaccine demand to begin vaccinating all residents 16 and older at their immediate discretion in order to "address a concerning possible trend in increasing COVID hospitalizations and case rates."

IDPH said in a statement that it had seen vaccine demand slow in several counties "with early signs of unfilled appointments and increased vaccine inventory."

As such, the state is authorizing counties with open appointments and slowed demand to expand vaccine eligibility in order to use doses currently available. IDPH noted that residents should contact their local health department to learn whether they have expanded eligibility.

The state also announced Friday that it is sending "Rapid Response Vaccination Teams" to five counties where epidemiologists "have determined there is a need to administer doses quickly to blunt increasing trends," IDPH said. Those teams will administer single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccinations to residents on top of what the counties are already allocated.

Those counties are: Carroll, Ogle, Boone, Lee and Whiteside. Details on doses and how to make an appointment are as follows, per IDPH:

Date	County	Make an appointment	Daily doses
March 31	Carroll County	http://www.ccphd.org/	800
April 1	Ogle County	https://www.oglecounty.org/departments/health_department/new_page.php	1,200
April 2	Boone County	https://events.juvare.com/IL-IDPH/eaa35aa4-f83d-48ee-8660-520d401803aa/	1,000
April 3	Lee County	http://www.lchd.com/covid19-vaccinations/	600
April 5	Whiteside County	https://www.whitesidehealth.org/covid-19-information.html	600

“Recent increases in hospital admissions and test positivity are concerning new developments and we don’t want to go down the same path we’ve seen before and experience a resurgence in the pandemic, which is why Governor Pritzker directed us to use all our resources to halt these upticks,” IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement.

Illinois has seen 10 days of increases in the seven-day rolling average for hospital admissions since March 8, IDPH said, and the COVID-19 test positivity was 3.3% as of Friday - up from 2.5% on March 10.

"While these rates are certainly significantly lower than the peak, they represent a potential early warning sign about a possible resurgence," IDPH said.

IDPH on Friday noted that Chicago's daily case rate has increased by nearly 50% since last week, along with six days of increases in test positivity, while suburban Cook County has seen its daily case rate increase more than 40%, along with nine days of increasing hospital bed usage.

“We cannot move forward if our metrics are going backward," Ezike said . "The vaccine will help get us to the end of the pandemic, but we need to continue to reduce spread of the virus by wearing a mask, avoiding large crowds, keeping six feet of distance, getting tested after seeing others, and getting vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced last week that all Illinois residents over the age of 16 will be eligible to get vaccinated beginning on April 12.

All vaccinations remain by appointment only, officials said, noting that "making an appointment to receive a shot may take time." Newly eligible workers can make appointments at "the more than 900 location in the state’s provider network," Pritzker said.

For a complete look at where and how you can make an appointment in Illinois or where you can receive vaccine information for your area, click here.

Here's a full list of mass vaccination locations in the state and how to sign up for appointments:

Date	Location	Address	Appointment	Daily Dose capability (when vaccines are available)
Now Open	Adams County: Oakley Lindsey Center	300 Civic Center Plaza, Quincy IL	https://www.adamscountytogether.com/	2,100
Now Open	Cook County: Tinley Park Convention Center	18451 Convention Center Drive, Tinley Park, IL	https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov	2,160
Now Open	Cook County: Triton College	2000 5th Ave., River Grove, IL	https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov	540
Now Open	Cook County: South Suburban College	15800 State St., South Holland IL	https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov	540
Now Open	Cook County: Former K-Mart	1155 E Oakton St, Des Plaines, IL	https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov	1,890
Now Open	Cook County: Former HOBO	7600 Roosevelt Rd., Forest Park IL	https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov	2,160
Now Open	DuPage County Fairgrounds, Building 1	2015 Manchester Rd, Wheaton, IL	https://www.dupagehealth.org/667/COVID-19-Vaccine	1,000
Now Open	Grundy County: Shabbona Middle School	725 School St, Morris, IL	https://www.grundyco.org/health/	540
Now Open	Jackson County: Banterra Center	Southern Illinois University, Carbondale IL	http://www.jchdonline.org/	540
Now Open	Jackson County: Carbondale Civic Center	200 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale IL	http://www.jchdonline.org/	540
April 2	Kane County: Former Carson Pirie Scott	970 North Lake St., Aurora IL.	https://www.kanevax.org/	270
Now Open	Kane County: Former Sam’s Club	501 N. Randall Rd., Batavia, IL	https://www.kanevax.org/	750
April 1	Lake County: Community Based Testing Center	102 W. Water Street Waukegan IL	https://allvax.lakecohealth.org/s/?language=en_US	400
Now Open	Madison County: Gateway Convention Center	1 Gateway Drive., Collinsville IL	https://www.co.madison.il.us/departments/health/index.php	1350
Now Open	Sangamon County: Orr Building	Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield IL	http://www.SCDPH.org	1620
(217) 210-8801
Now Open	St. Clair County: Belle-Clair Fairgrounds	200 S. Belt E #2650, Belleville IL	https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/health-department	1080
April 2	Will County: Former Toys R Us	3128 Voyager Lane Joliet IL	https://bit.ly/3m1qqkw	800
Now Open	Winnebago County: Former K-Mart	1321 Sandy Hollow Rd., Rockford IL	https://www.wchd.org/	1350
Now Open	City of Chicago: United Center	1901 W. Madison Street, Chicago IL	https://www.zocdoc.com/vaccine/screener?state=IL	Chicago/ Cook County Only
Now Open	DeKalb County: NIU Convocation Center	1525 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb, IL	https://health.dekalbcounty.org/about/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccination/	County residents only
Now Open	Lake County Fairgrounds	1060 E. Peterson Rd., Grayslake, IL	https://allvax.lakecohealth.org/s/?language=en_US	Individuals who live and work in County
Mar 30	McHenry County: Former K-Mart	1900 N. Richmond Ave., Woodstock IL	https://www.mchenrycountyil.gov/county-government/departments-a-i/health-department/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/vaccine-locations	County residents only
Now Open	McLean County: Grossinger Motors Arena	101 S. Madison Street, Bloomington IL	https://health.mcleancountyil.gov/790/COVID-19-Vaccine	County residents only
Now Open	Rock Island County: Camden Centre	2701 1st Street East, Milan IL	https://richd.org/	County residents Only
Now Open	Vermilion County: Danville Community College	2000 E. Main Street, Danville IL	https://vchd.org/	County residents only
Now Open	Vermilion County: Vermilion Regional Airport	22633 N. Bowman Avenue, Danville IL	https://vchd.org/	County residents only

NOTE: An earlier version of this story said the McHenry site was opening Tuesday, citing information released by the governor's office. That information was incorrect and this story has been updated to reflect the change.