Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) officials Tuesday provided legislative members of the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission an update on the current version of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan, including a preview upcoming phases of distribution.
During his presentation, IDPH Deputy Director of the Office of Preparedness & Response Andrew Friend explained that Illinois is currently vaccinating group 1A, which including all individuals who work in health care settings who may indirectly or directly come in contact with patients, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Friend said group 1B, the subsequent group to be vaccinated, currently includes adults 75 or older and workers like first responders (police, firemen), educators, critical infrastructure workers, and those working in the food and agriculture sectors. Group 1C currently includes all adults ages 65 to 74 and those individuals between ages 16 and 54 with high risk-conditions or comorbidities like heart disease. He explained that the CDC is still trying to determine who exactly falls into which group.
Friend also emphasized that different areas of the state will move from phase 1A into phases 1B and 1C at different times depending on the makeup of that specific community and the uptake rate of those individuals being vaccinated.
Friend also gave a detailed breakdown of how doses are being delivered to frontlines. Between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, IDPH expect 485,000 doses to be administered to health care workers by the end of December, as well as 340,000 doses administered to residents and staff of long term care facilities, who will begin receiving vaccines this week.
As of Dec. 19, over 63,764 doses have been administered to health care workers. He also explained to the legislators that each individual who is vaccinated receives a card designed by the CDC that serves as both as verification of when they were vaccinated and what dose they received and as a reminder to receive their second booster dose roughly three weeks after their first.
-Allison Richard
