Pritzker announces transitional reopening phase, vaccine eligibility expansion in April

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other State officials on Thursday released a new framework allowing Illinois to move to Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois Plan, further announcing Illinois residents 16 and older will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning April 12.

The newly announced "Bridge Phase" is designed to serve as a transition period that includes higher capacity limits at locations such as zoos, museums and spectator events, along with increased business operations. Advancing to this phase requires the whole state of Illinois to meet several specific metrics: a first dose vaccination rate of 70 percent for residents 65 and older; an ICU bed availability rate of 20 percent or lower; and steady case rate, mortality rate and number of hospital missions related to COVID-19 during a 28-day monitoring period.

According to a State news release, all jurisdictions receiving vaccines, such as local health departments, pharmacies and mass vaccination sites, will be "instructed to move to widespread eligibility" on April 12. To date, more than one out of every four Illinois residents 16 and up has received a COVID-19 vaccine, including more than 58 percent of residents 65 or older.

“COVID-19 has not gone away, but the light we can see at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter as more people get vaccinated,” Pritzker said in the news release. “It’s time to begin to cautiously move toward normalcy, and it’s imperative that we do so in a way that maintains all the progress we’ve made to date."

The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has received FDA approval for use in people 16 and older, while the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have FDA authorization for adults 18 and up.