The vaccination update can be seen live on the previous video player.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city’s top doctor will deliver an update Monday on the city’s coronavirus vaccination plan, according to Lightfoot’s public calendar.
Lightfoot and Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady will give the update during a press conference at 2 p.m. Monday at the Esperanza Health Center, located at 4700 S. California, for the mayoralty.
Arwady announced last week that phase 1A of COVID-19 vaccinations could last until part of February.
During a briefing on the coronavirus, he said the initial groups will likely take mid-February to get vaccinated. Arwady added that for some, they will only have received the first dose of the two before the city starts vaccinating other populations.
“So while we’re in Phase 1A, which is again December, January and February, the focus is on health workers and long-term care center residents,” Arwady said. “We will start to get up as I mentioned some of these bigger dispensation points, so we can make sure all health workers can be vaccinated.”
Arwady said the city will install the first mass vaccination site next week, which will allow health workers to be vaccinated more quickly.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who visited Illinois on Tuesday to examine the state’s vaccine launch, said he expects to have half of the adult population vaccinated nationwide by the end of February.
Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health workers and residents of long-term care centers are part of group 1A or the first people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at all. the state.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health website, the following groups of individuals will be prioritized in the early stages of vaccine launch:
- Healthcare staff and residents of long-term care centers
- Essential front-line workers, including first aid
- People with high-risk medical conditions, as well as adults over 65 years of age
So far, Chicago has only vaccinated health workers, but has sent the vaccine to the city’s 35 hospitals. Arwady said the health department will begin vaccinating at long-term care facilities Monday.