Earlier today, President Joe Biden announced that he's moving up the deadline for all American adults to be eligible for vaccination to April 19—two weeks ahead of his original deadline of May 1. During a press conference this afternoon, Mayor Lori Lightfoot stated that Chicago will follow the President's lead, making all adults in Chicago eligible for vaccination on April 19. Chicago's original vaccine distribution timeline would not have made all Chicagoans age 16 or older eligible until May 31.
Mayor Lightfoot made it clear that while adults will be eligible to schedule a vaccine appointment beginning on April 19, the level of demand is still outstripping supply of the vaccine. "We need more vaccine from the federal government, but we're optimistic based upon conversations that that opportunity will happen," Lightfoot stated. Earlier this week, the city opened two new mass vaccination sites at Wrigley Field and Chicago State University.
Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady revealed that as of today, 40 percent of Chicagoans have received at least once dose of a vaccine while 21 percent of Chicagoans have been fully vaccinated. She also shared her concerns about rising case numbers in Chicago, Cook County and in cities throughout the nation, including in Michigan where cases are surging. "Assuming that things don't completely take off, my preference is to not to have to dial back," Arwady said in response to a question about reinstituting restrictions on indoor dining. "But if we start seeing this look like Michigan in terms of significant hospitalizations—more concerns there—and we had to make that decision, we definitely would"
While Chicago's acceleration of its Covid-19 vaccination eligibility timeline is good news for Chicagoans who are not currently eligible to book an appointment during Phase 1C, it's still not on pace with the state of Illinois. Outside of Chicago, all Illinois residents age 16 or older will be able to book an appointment beginning on Monday, April 12.
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