Illinois is rapidly moving toward the “Bridge Phase” of the State’s Restore Illinois Plan .
Governor J.B. Pritzker announced Monday the state is on pace to possibly move into the new phase in the coming days. The state will move into the Bridge Phase once 70% of Illinoisans age 65 and older have received at least the first dose of COVID vaccine.
To date, more than 4.7 million doses of vaccine have been administered throughout the state. Pritzker says the state is getting closer to the 70% threshold by the day.
“Illinois has made great progress to date in saving lives and ending this pandemic. I’ll deploy every available resource to get the entire state over the finish line as quickly as possible. So far nearly 1 in 3 adult residents has already been vaccinated including more than 64% of our seniors 65 and over, that’s amazing progress.”
As of today, government workers, higher education staff, and the media is the latest subgroup allowed to begin scheduling their vaccination appointments. Next Monday, restaurant staff, construction workers, and religious leaders will be added to the list of Illinoisans eligible for the vaccine, and beginning April 12th, everyone 16 and older can get the shot.
Pritzker says additional vaccination distribution sites are coming online soon thanks in part by help from the Illinois National Guard. Over the weekend, the Illinois National Guard marked a significant milestone in the fight against COVID-19 administering more than 500,000 vaccinations to Illinois residents to date.
Pritzker has deployed nearly 1,400 Illinois National Guard troops for COVID-19 operations, which includes more than 86 teams operating at 39 vaccination sites. In total there are now more than 900 vaccination locations in Illinois open to the public, and these locations can be viewed online at www.coronavirus.illinois.gov.
IDPH officials say for those having difficulty navigating online services to make vaccination appointments, the State’s Vaccine Appointment Call Center may be able to assist. The hotline is available seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to midnight.
Call agents’ primary role is to help individuals navigate the various online registration sites. However, if the individual does not have access to online services or is unable to navigate the site, the call agent will make an appointment on the caller’s behalf. The Vaccine Appointment Call Center’s phone number is 1-833-621-1284.