Are you homebound and looking to get vaccinated in Chicago or Cook County? Or maybe you have a friend or relative who is?
Programs have been established both in the city of Chicago and suburban Cook County to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to homebound residents.
In Cook County, the Department of Public Health has partnered with health care providers, non-certified local health departments and the Sheriff's Office to vaccinated homebound individuals, according to Thomas McFeeley, spokesman for the Cook County Department of Public Health.
So far, at least 450 doses have been administered throughout the county, McFeeley stated. However, he said the total is believed to be higher as providers don't necessarily specify when mobile vaccine doses are given to homebound residents.
Homebound individuals looking to secure an appointment through the program are advised to call the Cook County Vaccine Sign-Up hotline at 1-833-308-1988. An operator will take their information, and they will be contacted when their appointment is scheduled, according to county officials.
McFeeley said how soon a person may be vaccinated after signing up depends on a variety of factors including the amount of doses delivered.
For Chicago residents, in early March the city established the "Protect Chicago Homebound" program, in which Chicago Fire Department paramedics visit residents and administer the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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The program is open to people who can’t leave home because doing so requires “considerable and taxing effort.”
Those eligible must be:
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- A senior or a person with a disability and require in-home assistance; or
- Someone who uses equipment (like a ventilator, crutches, a walker, a wheelchair, etc.) or requires accessible transportation to leave home.
Chicago residents can sign up for the program here.