Arlington Heights Vaccine Eligibility Expanded To Phase 1c

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Public health officials in suburban Cook County Wednesday expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all essential workers in Phase 1c, the final vaccine priority group before appointments open up for anyone 16 or older next month.

Arlington Heights residents who work in retail, food service, transportation, construction, manufacturing and more can now make appointments to receive vaccines, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health. Those who live in Chicago or other counties but work in the suburbs are also eligible.

Public health officials estimate there are an additional 100,000 essential workers who live in suburban Cook County who will become eligible as part of the expansion, bringing the total number of eligible residents in the Cook County suburbs in Phases 1b, 1b+ and 1c to about 1 million.

“We are making great progress in our vaccinations: over 25 percent of all residents in suburban Cook County and more than 80 percent of those age 65 and older have received at least one dose,” Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer and lead of the suburban health department, said in a statement announcing the expansion.

“We are building an impressive county-wide system to administer vaccines to as many of our 2.5 million residents who want one and will be able to equitably and efficiently administer them if the vaccine supply can match the demand," Rubin added.

Chicago entered Phase 1c on Monday. Depending on local supply and demand for vaccines, health departments outside of Chicago are permitted to expand eligibility to anyone aged 16 and up. Several downstate counties have already begun doing so.

Another 1.2 million suburban Cook County residents are expected to become eligible in less than two weeks.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has directed all health departments outside of Chicago to move to Phase 2 of the vaccine rollout starting April 12, making all residents aged 16 or older eligible for the vaccine. It remains to be seen if it will be a binding mandate.

Public health officials in Chicago, which receives its supply separately from the state health department, have until the federal deadline of May 1 to expand eligibility.

"Cook County Health has administered more than 350,000 vaccinations to date; well on our way to our goal [of 1] million," Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha said. "We’re proud to contribute so significantly to the vaccination of over 620,000 suburban Cook County residents so far."

On Tuesday, the state's seven-day rolling average number of vaccine doses administered per day hit an all-time high of more than 109,000 jabs.

About 426,000 suburban Cook County residents have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The county's inoculation rate is about a fifth of a percentage point above the state.

“We are making great progress in our vaccinations: over 25 percent of all residents in suburban Cook County and more than 80 percent of those age 65 and older have received at least one dose,” Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer and co-lead of the county health department, said in a statement announcing the expansion.

“We are building an impressive county-wide system to administer vaccines to as many of our 2.5 million residents who want one and will be able to equitably and efficiently administer them if the vaccine supply can match the demand,” she added.

Public health officials recommend all residents of Arlington Heights pre-register for vaccine appointment information from the county. About 1.2 million people have already done so, according to a spokesperson.

For the first time Wednesday, state public health officials began also reporting the number of wasted or otherwise unusable doses.

According to data reported to the state, there have been 1,645 doses of vaccine wasted statewide out of the first 5.8 million doses administered.

Also Wednesday, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office announced the county's 10,000th death due to COVID-19. It has been barely a year since the state recorded its first death from coronavirus — 61-year-old retired nurse Patricia Frieson, of Chicago, died March 16, 2020.

Of those that have died since, more than 80 percent were people over the age of 60, and 57 percent of fatalities were men. They include 127 Arlington Heights residents.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she mourned with the 10,000 families who have suffered the loss of a member during the past year.

“While there is light at the end of the tunnel," Preckwinkle said, "this is a sobering reminder that the virus is still with us and that we must continue to remain vigilant until we’ve achieved herd immunity.”

For more information on how to get a coronavirus vaccine in Illinois, visit Patch's information page.