Pritzker Administration Limiting Access to United Center Vaccinations
40,000 COVID-19 vaccination appointments have been secured at the United Center in Chicago, but Sunday, Governor JB Pritzker announced he would limit access to the site for anyone outside of Cook County.
When Governor JB Pritzker joined federal officials February 26 to announce a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at Chicago’s United Center, he proudly proclaimed “all of our state’s residents will have access to the United Center.”
Just ten days later, as vaccinations were just beginning at the large site, Pritzker and state officials announced Sunday they were limiting who could get vaccinated at the United Center, including preventing anyone who lives outside of Cook County from using the site.
The state said Sunday more than 40,000 seniors secured appointments at the United Center site since registration opened Thursday morning, though less than 40 percent of these appointments were made by Chicago residents.
Citing equity, the state began limiting appointments to residents of the City of Chicago, with an undisclosed amount available to residents of suburban Cook County. No residents outside of Cook County will be allowed to use the site.
The Governor’s office did not release what percentage of the United Center appointments will be reserved for suburban Cook County. It did not say where or how many additional vaccines would be deployed outside of Cook County. We have inquired to the Governor’s office about access to the shot in places around the state with limited vaccine access.
“We are grateful for the federal government’s support in providing additional opportunities for seniors throughout the state of Illinois to receive the vaccine,” Pritzker said in a release. “With state-supported mass vaccination sites and mobile teams already operating throughout the state, we look forward to using additional doses from the United Center site to build on this robust effort and reach our communities hit hardest by COVID-19.”
The state had claimed 110,000 appointment slots would be available to residents but said Sunday 40,000 had been secured. In its release, it claimed “tens of thousands” of spots were open at the United Center.
