State Announces Community Partners Vaccination Clinics Open to All 102 Counties

CHICAGO - To help more vulnerable Illinoisans get vaccinated, the state of Illinois is offering partnerships with community organizations that want to host vaccine clinics. Interested organizations can apply online to bring mobile clinics to underserved communities, with a particular focus on Black and Latino communities, rural communities, immigrant communities, disability communities, and any community that has current barriers to vaccination. 

Working with trusted community partners will help overcome barriers such as language, transportation, disabilities, technology and geography. Clinic locations are determined by the community partner, creating a safe and trusting environment for those seeking vaccinations in their communities.

"As we shift into the next phase of vaccinations - where we have enough supply but need to overcome hesitancy and structural barriers - we're working to overcome those barriers," said Governor JB Pritzker. "These partner organizations know their communities best, and they know how to bridge barriers like language, transportation and skepticism, and we're proud to offer this service to organizations that want to host vaccine clinics." 

"Similar to other states across the country, we are starting to see a slowdown in the number of COVID-19 vaccines administered each day" said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.  "While more than 53% of Illinois adults have received at least one dose of vaccine, we need more people to get vaccinated in order to help end this pandemic as quickly as possible. To meet this challenge, we are starting to shift our approach away from people coming to mass vaccination sites, as we take vaccines directly  into the communities where people live, work, and play in order to make getting vaccinated as easy as possible." 
 
To request a Community Partner Vaccination clinic, organizations can apply online at http://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccinationclinics.  IDPH's equity team will evaluate clinic applications and make every effort to schedule as many clinics as possible, as vaccine and resource availability allow.

Community Partner Vaccination Clinics have access to all three approved COVID-19 vaccines: Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer-BioTech and Moderna, depending on availability.  For vaccines that require a second shot, a second clinic will be held based on the appropriate timeline (21 days later for Pfizer-BioTech, 28 days later for Moderna). As a reminder, only the Pfizer-BioTech vaccine is currently available for those 16 and 17-years old.

The State of Illinois will supply all the staff, equipment and vaccine needed to run each Community Vaccination event. The state will also coordinate and provide translator services as needed. Community hosts are asked to supply a space and parking for the event and engage in outreach to recruit 200 people or more to receive their vaccines at the clinic. Volunteers for the event are also encouraged.
Community Partner Vaccination Clinics are closed-pod vaccination events, which means the event is not open to the general public. Closed-pods are used as a way for community organizations to bring vaccine directly to their communities.

Since the vaccine was first made available in Illinois last December, the state has administered more than 8.8 million doses, with 53% of individuals 16+ receive at least one dose. The state has administered more than 2.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine alone to Illinois adults ages 65 and over.

Appointments are currently available at all state-supported mass vaccination sites in Illinois.  The state-supported vaccination sites listed below are open to all eligible Illinois residents, regardless of where they live, unless otherwise noted.  A state hotline (1-833-621-1284) has been established to help Illinois residents find a vaccine location near them.  The hotline is open 7 days a week from 6am to midnight with agents available in English and Spanish.