Illinois Gets $124 Million From Feds To Expand Vaccine Efforts

ILLINOIS — The State of Illinois will receive another $124 million to bolster its COVID-19 vaccination efforts, with the bulk of the funding — around 75 percent — focused on expanding vaccine access for underserved communities and those disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. The Illinois Department of Public Health said Illinois' allotment includes more than $90 million for the state and $33 million just for the city of Chicago.

Officials said the funding will allow the state to expand existing equity efforts, including partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers and safety net hospitals, collaboration with Black and Latino places of worship, rural vaccination teams and mass vaccination sites in communities hit hardest by the pandemic.

According to IDPH, thanks to the federal government's "expanded pipeline," more than 80 of the 97 local health departments across the state have opened vaccinations to everyone age 16 and older. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has pledged to open up vaccination to everyone over 16 by April 12 in the rest of the state, while Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it will happen in Chicago by April 19.

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"With this new funding from the Biden/Harris administration, Illinois will move quickly to further expand our aggressive efforts to reach those most vulnerable to COVID-19," Pritzker said in a release. "With mass vaccination sites across the state, rural vaccination teams reaching those with less access to healthcare, and partnerships with trusted providers in underserved communities, we have built the infrastructure to end this pandemic as quickly as possible, and these new resources will only help us reach that day even sooner."

State health officials also addressed the issue of getting vaccines to those disproportionately affected by coronavirus.

"Health equity is important across the health care spectrum, but especially now as we've seen our African-American/Black and Hispanic populations disproportionately affected by the pandemic, as well as lower vaccination rates in these communities," said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. "This additional funding will help us provide the resources needed for our public health partners to increase vaccine accessibility and acceptance."

The state also announced that a new mass vaccination site available to all eligible Illinois residents will open Wednesday at the Elgin Eastside Recreation Center, 1080 E. Chicago St. in Elgin.

The site has the capacity to administer 270 doses per day and will be the state's 11th mass vaccination site across Cook and the collar counties.