The Tinley Park Convention Center is now open as a site for mass coronavirus vaccination in Illinois, state officials announced.
The center, located at 18451 Convention Center Drive, opened Tuesday as a massive Illinois National Guard vaccination site in Cook County, according to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Pritzker, along with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, toured the new location Monday, as the state entered Phase 1B of its vaccine deployment, opening doses to millions of residents.
“Widespread vaccination sites will allow us to quickly and efficiently obtain these doses of life-saving vaccines to Illinois residents as more federal vaccine shipments are published,” Pritzker said in a statement. “The Illinois National Guard and the Illinois Department of Public Health are proud to partner with Cook County to launch the Tinley Park Convention Center vaccination site: our seventh county collaboration of Cook in general, with many more across the state. “
Appointments are mandatory, according to the people of Tinley Park, which according to the appointments can only be made through the websites of the states and counties. They can be scheduled through the new Cook County Vaccine website or by calling (833) 308-1988.
For a full overview of how to make an appointment or receive vaccine information for your area, click here.
“This first major location in Southland is indicative of our commitment to distribute the vaccine equitably, but we fully hope that demand will quickly exceed supply,” Israel Rocha, CEO of Cook County Health, said in a statement. “It is critical for people to understand that while we are eager to vaccinate anyone who wants to be vaccinated, the supply of vaccines remains the main limiting factor. We ask Cook County residents for their continued patience as we work to increase one of the largest vaccine programs in the country operated by the county “.
County officials expect to be able to administer up to 3,000 vaccines a day “when the Tinley Park site is fully optimized and when an appropriate vaccine is available.”
As of Tuesday, seven mass vaccination sites have opened in suburban Cook County. (Full list of locations here)
The county said it plans to open at least five additional large sites in the suburbs in the coming weeks, but they will depend on vaccine availability.
Phase 1B, which began on Monday, opened vaccines to people 65 and older, as well as “essential front-line workers,” which includes first aid, education workers as teachers and support staff, daycare workers, grocery store employees, postal service workers and more.
In addition to the Tinley Park site, several Walgreens and Jewel-Osco locations also began vaccinating or opening appointments for eligible Illinois residents under Phase 1B of the state’s vaccine deployment.
The Illinois Department of Public Health has launched a site where eligible residents can find vaccination events and make appointments.
The governor said current vaccination sites in the state are only available by appointment, but that the state plans to launch locations in the coming weeks.
“As the federal vaccine supply increases and Illinois receives more vaccines, the state will launch locations and expand locations to additional providers such as medical offices and emergency care clinics,” the governor’s office said in a statement Monday. “More information on these locations will be posted in the coming weeks.”