State officials announced Tuesday that Illinois will receive an additional $124 million in funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to further expand its COVID-19 vaccination program, including more than $90 million for the state and $33 million for the city of Chicago.
Approximately 75% of the funding will be focused on underserved communities and those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 to help ensure individuals are equitably vaccinated.
The funding will allow the state to further build-out 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.
All Illinois residents will be eligible to receive the vaccine beginning Monday, April 12.
The Illinois Department of Public Health will develop an equitable distribution plan in which the majority of funding will be allocated to local health departments and community-based organizations to help increase vaccination rates. A portion of the funding will also be used to expand the public health infrastructure so that Illinois has the capacity to support additional vaccination efforts.
For information on how to make an appointment to receive the vaccine, go to coronavirus.illinois.gov.
For those having difficulty navigating online services to make vaccination appointments, the state’s Vaccine Appointment Call Center can help. The call center, at 1-833-621-1284, is available seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight, can take TTY calls, and uses both English and Spanish speaking call agents with the availability for translation into other languages.