New mass COVID-19 vaccination site to open Friday in Forest Park
Another COVID-19 mass vaccination site initially capable of giving 1,000 shots a day will open Friday in Forest Park, Gov. J.B. Pritkzer announced Monday.
The facility, located at a former HOBO store at 7630 Roosevelt Road, will later expand to offer up to 5,000 shots daily, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said.
“It will play a critical role in our continuing efforts to vaccinate our most vulnerable residents such as those with preexisting conditions,” Pritzker said.
The state-supported site will be open to all Illinois residents who are 65 and older or front-line essential workers like teachers and police (Phase 1B). Also eligible are people with underlying medical conditions, such as cancer or kidney disease, that make them more vulnerable to serious complications from COVID-19 (Group 1B-Plus).
In addition, a new category of essential workers — staff members at colleges, government employees and media — can get shots at Forest Park and at all state-supported sites, the governor's office said.
Appointments for Friday at the Forest Park site will be released Thursday. For information, go to vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or call (833) 308-1988.
Preckwinkle noted that “when fully operational, this site will be able to provide nearly 5,000 vaccines a day. We're going to ramp up.”
Illinois has a variety of federal, state and local vaccination clinics but officials noted Monday that mass clinics in DuPage and Kane counties plus five in Cook County are open to all eligible Illinoisans. Cook County locations include a former Kmart in Des Plaines, the new site in Forest Park, Triton College in River Grove, South Suburban College in South Holland and the Tinley Park Convention Center.
“Having mass vaccination community sites is the only way we are going to beat this virus,” Preckwinkle said.
The news comes amid a push to expand vaccine access even as new, more infectious variants of COVID-19 are emerging in Illinois.
State policy limits inoculations to Phase 1B and Phase 1B-Plus, including the newly added college, government and media workers.
But some counties have offered their own eligibility rules, with suburban Cook and collar county leaders frequently pointing out that the demand for shots is higher than the supply.
The Cook County Department of Public Health just expanded to Phase 1B-Plus on Monday.
DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will health departments are not giving shots to 1B-Plus at their facilities yet.
The Pritzker administration apparently took note, announcing new partnerships with Lake and DuPage county mass vaccination sites last week.
Pritzker noted that a more predictable supply of vaccines is coming to the state from the federal government, with a promise of more than 1 million doses a week in April.
Meanwhile, retail pharmacy chains around the state, such as Walgreens and Jewel-Osco, are also providing vaccinations.
With pharmacies, hospitals, clinics and various government sites, about 900 different locations are offering shots. More information is available at coronavirus.illinois.gov or, if you have trouble making appointment online, by calling (833) 621-1284.
On April 12, all Illinoisans age 16 and older will be eligible for COVID-19 shots, Pritzker said last week.