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 The Governor and Illinois Department of Public
Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike also announced an expansion
of the COVID-19 vaccine administration plan to include private
doctors’ offices and small medical providers, which can now begin to
order and administer COVID-19 vaccine directly to patients.
Interested providers can register with the Illinois Comprehensive
Automated Immunization Registry Exchange (I-CARE). Thus far, 60% of
adult residents have received their first dose, including 85% of
residents ages 65 and older. To further expand vaccine
accessibility, state-run vaccination sites will now accept walk-ins
in addition to pre-booked appointments.
“I’m pleased to announce that the concerning upward movement of
cases and hospitalizations we were seeing a few weeks ago have
stabilized – a testament to the lifesaving, community-protecting
power of vaccinations,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “As a result, on
Friday, May 14th, the State of Illinois will move into the Bridge
Phase of our mitigation plan – one step closer to removing nearly
all of the remaining mitigations, and a very hopeful move toward
fully reopening. I want to thank people across Illinois who are
getting vaccinated, wearing their masks, and continuing to do their
part to make your friends and family safer and your communities
healthier.”
“Vaccination is how we can get back to summer camps, swimming
lessons, and youth sports; but it is not something the Illinois
Department of Public Health can do on its own. We need everyone’s
help. If you’ve been vaccinated, talk with your friends and
co-workers about getting vaccinated,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi
Ezike. “Research shows that health care providers, as well as
friends and family, are who most people look to when deciding to get
vaccinated. Wear your mask, avoid large crowds, and get your shot.”
Over 9.7 million vaccine doses have been administered to Illinois
residents in every corner of the state, with millions of those shots
taking place at mass vaccination sites, pharmacies, federally
qualified health centers, community outreach initiatives, and mobile
clinics. With vaccine scarcity no longer the primary barrier to
vaccinations, the administration is shifting its program to meet
people where they are as much as possible. This effort includes
partnering with community organizations to host sites at a location
of their choosing, rural and rapid response mobile vaccination
teams, and today’s announcements expanding to doctors’ offices and
accepting walk-ins at state-supported sites.
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Currently, 1,054 doctors’ offices across the state
have already registered to administer the COVID-19 vaccine on site,
offering their patients a familiar, trusted environment to receive
the shot. To begin providing the vaccine, doctors must register with
I-CARE to coordinate the ordering of doses.
“Vaccine hesitancy isn’t so much about the science and the logic. It
is about emotion and fear and lack of trust. While agreeing with the
science, we need to address the fear and lack of trust quietly,
confidently and with empathy for those who are hesitant,” said Dr.
Paul Pedersen, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at OSF St.
Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington. “Among those competent to
discuss this empathetically are community physicians. We have a
unique relationship with our patients and our communities to be able
to help dispel the hesitancy. Arming us with vaccine in our offices
will only enhance that capability.”
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approves
certain vaccines for younger Illinois residents, including young
people ages 12-15, the administration is encouraging pediatric
offices to also register with I-CARE. Providers interested in
registering with the application should go to the IDPH website and
view the enrollment packet:
https://bit.ly/3us02E2.
“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on families, particularly
Black and Brown families. It's important for family physicians, who
have spent years, sometimes over multiple generations, building
trust with the families they treat, to encourage and engage with
patients and their families to get them vaccinated,” said Dr.
Whitney Lyn of Sengstacke Clinic, Provident Hospital.
IDPH is coordinating vaccination clinics with religious groups,
community organizations, mutual aid programs, neighborhood
associations, and other organizations. To host a clinic in your
community, sign-up at
www.dph.
illinois.gov/covid19/vaccinationclinics.
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine and find information on
other vaccine locations, go to
https://
coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/vaccination-location.
[Office of the Governor JB Pritzker] |
