City unveils plan to start rolling out vaccines

The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine could be distributed in Chicago starting the week of Dec. 14, pending approval from federal regulators, city officials announced Dec. 9.

According to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago department of Public Health, the city plans to allocate initial doses of the vaccine to the city's 34 hospitals and prioritize individuals and communities that have been most affected by the pandemic. 

Frontline healthcare workers would be given first priority, followed by staff and residents at long-term care facilities, essential workers such as emergency services personnel, individuals at high risk of severe COVID-19 illness and seniors 65 and older. The city's public health department anticipates receiving 23,000 doses of the vaccine in the first batch and additional doses on a weekly basis.

“The vaccine development represents a long-awaited milestone in Chicago’s – and the nation’s – fight against COVID-19, and we look forward to working with our citywide partners to ensure the distribution process is executed as efficiently and safely as possible through an equity lens,” Lightfoot said in a city news release. “However, as encouraged as we are by the COVID-19 vaccine, widespread community distribution is still months away, and we must remain diligent in adhering to the public health guidelines as we continue to move forward toward a brighter and more resilient future for all of us.”  

This month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is scheduled to discuss requests from Pfizer and Moderna for emergency authorization for their vaccine candidates.

Chicago's public health department is also creating a scientific advisory committee composed of local experts that will review the FDA process and offer guidance during the coming year.

The city's goal is for all adult residents to be able to receive the vaccination in 2021 at no cost. Vaccination providers will include doctors' offices, hospitals, retail pharmacies and federally qualified health centers.

Updates on the vaccine's availability locally will be available at www.chicago.gov/COVIDvax, and Chicagoans can locate the vaccine by using the VaccineFinder website, vaccinefinder.org. More information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is available at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html.