State Directs Excess Vaccine from Pharmacy Partnership Program to Those Eligible in Phase 1B
Illinois Department of Human Services deploying teams to help vaccinate long-term care residents and staff as quickly as possible

[February 19, 2021]   In order to increase the limited supply of vaccine to eligible recipients, the State of Illinois is working with Walgreens and CVS pharmacies to temporarily redirect approximately 97,000 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine doses that have not yet been used for the federal Pharmacy Partnership Program to providers across the state.

After this transfer, approximately 110,000 doses will still remain available for the federal effort to vaccinate long term care residents; the federal program is administering approximately 36,000 doses per week. IDPH will continue to closely monitor the program and additional doses will be directed to the program if needed or if the rate of vaccination accelerates.

Doses were intentionally allocated to the federal PPP to ensure the program would have more than enough doses to fully vaccinate all long-term care facilities. Allocations to the federal PPP were based on total number of beds in each facility and assumed full participation by residents and staff in the vaccine program. As the pharmacy partners work down the current surplus, the State will closely monitor their progress and direct additional vaccine to the program as needed.

The doses will be used to supplement the limited supply of vaccine for the more than 3.2 million Illinoisans who qualify for Phase 1B of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan.

Long-term care facilities remain a top priority in the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. To supplement the federal PPP, the Illinois Department of Human Services is sending at least eight teams of nurses, volunteers and support staff to assisted living facilities, intermediate care facilities for people with developmental disabilities and group homes. Teams are expected to be deployed and in facilities this week. Facilities that are in the final stages of the federal program have been offered the opportunity to have a state team visit their site in place of the federal teams.

“We want to make sure every dose allocated to Illinois can be used as quickly and equitably as possible,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “Long-term care residents and staff remain a top priority and we will ensure there will be as many doses readily available to those facilities as the PPP can administer each week. The State is grateful for its partnerships with hundreds of providers and we are directing excess doses that otherwise would be sitting in the freezer three weeks from now to locations across Illinois to vaccinate our Phase 1B residents.”

The federal PPP includes Walgreens and CVS pharmacies and is responsible for scheduling and administering COVID-19 vaccinations to long-term care residents and staff. The state is working closely with our partners to vaccinate our long-term care residents and staff as quickly as possible. Of the 97,000 doses being reallocated, 80,000 doses from the CVS portion of the PPP and approximately 17,000 doses from the Walgreens portion are being directed to their respective retail stores.

For information on how to make an appointment to receive the vaccine, updates on the state’s plan and eligibility, and answers to frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, go to coronavirus.illinois.gov.

[Text from file received from ]