As more vaccination sites open across Chicago, city officials continued to encourage senior residents to book appointments to receive their COVID-19 vaccine.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on Chicago residents Tuesday to assist the seniors in their lives in booking appointments to receive the coronavirus vaccine online, with more openings becoming available at Chicago's United Center location.
"Let me once again stress that our only way to fully recover from this pandemic is getting seniors vaccinated, as soon as possible. So our residents aged 65 and older, please don't delay in receiving this life-saving vaccine," Lightfoot said. "The loved ones of our residents aged 65 and older, please make every effort to help them get signed up for a vaccine appointment, either online or over the phone, and to help them get to the United Center when it's time for their appointment or we will provide transportation options for them. We must do everything in our power to support our seniors."
Illinois officials said priority will be given to residents age 65 and older later this week when the website opens to book appointments for the United Center mass vaccination site.
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Opening at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said there will be two ways to sign up at the United Center:
- To register online, visit Zocdoc.com/vaccine. The web site is projected to handle much higher volume of appointment requests. Zocdoc will show real-time appointment availability and eligible residents will then be able to select a date/time and book an appointment online. Date of birth will be required when booking an appointment to confirm vaccine eligibility.
- To register by phone, call (312) 746-4835. To help bridge the digital divide, a multi-lingual call center will be available to help seniors make an appointment. This call center will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Given the anticipated high demand for appointments, residents who can use the web site should book their appointments online. While the call center has 200 staffers, those who need to use the call center will very likely experience lengthy wait times.
For other vaccination locations in Chicago:
- Chicago residents can visit zocdoc.com/vaccine
- Once there, users will be asked to confirm their location and eligibility.
- If eligible under Illinois guidelines, Zocdoc will show nearby vaccination locations and their real-time appointment availability.
- Eligible patients will then be able to select a date, time, and location, and instantly book an appointment online. If no appointments are available, residents can sign up to be notified when new options come online.
- There will be embedded translation support for more than 100 languages, including Spanish.
For more information on how to sign up for a coronavirus vaccination appointment in other areas of Illinois, click here.
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Arwady also noted Tuesday that Uber is offering 20,000 free rides to and from the United Center for Chicago residents who need assistance with transportation. She said that the first few weeks of the site's operation would be walk-up but that there are plans to add a drive-up component in the coming weeks.
