All appointments at the United Center mass COVID vaccination site are, for now, limited to Chicago and suburban Cook County residents only, officials announced Sunday.
"We wanted to make sure that people who are most in need were getting the vaccines," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
A limited number of appointments are scheduled Tuesday, then it's a full opening Wednesday.
The doors will open at 9 a.m. Tuesday, and Gov. JB Pritzker, Lightfoot and others are expected to attend.
As of Monday, only Chicago residents could make appointments because only the city's website was offering them. Officials blamed FEMA for the last-minute changes, which have left the city, county and state scrambling and many people very confused about what they're supposed to do.
Crews were very busy at the United Center Monday getting the site ready for Tuesday's opening as a vaccine distribution center. Barricades went up with new signage to direct people where to go.
RELATED: United Center, Des Plaines mass vaccination sites begin accepting appointments
"FEMA came in late in the game here, right, and decided they wanted to change things," Gov. JB Pritzker said. "And, as you can imagine, there is technology involved in this, there are decisions being made like, well, if we're going to exclude other parts of the state like the collar counties, how are we going to serve them? So there's a lot of discussion going on."
Officials said approximately 40,000 of the 110,000 appointments available were made by Illinois residents over the age of 65 before eligibility was expanded yesterday to some frontline workers and those with underlying conditions. Promoted as a federally-sponsored state-wide facility, the last-minute residency requirement was made after it was discovered only 40% of appointments had gone to city residents.
Those who made their appointments prior to the eligibility change on Sunday will be able to keep their appointments even if they live outside the city, Pritzker said.
A spokesperson for FEMA confirmed their role in limiting remaining appointments to Chicago residents, saying, "We use data from the CDC's social vulnerability index, and work with our state partners to locate community vaccination centers where they will be able to do the most good for the most vulnerable populations....it was agreed by all that these changes were necessary to ensure this goal was met."
RELATED: Cook County Des Plaines COVID vaccine site opens
A second website is now being set up so that suburban Cook County residents can eventually sign up for vaccine appointments at the United Center, as well.
Even Chicago residents are having issues signing up.
ZocDoc, the website used to book appointments, went down when registration opened at 4 p.m. Sunday, then reappeared with changes asking people to confirm their location.
Registration for more appointments at the United Center are expected to open up for Cook County residents in the coming days, according to officials.
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Despite the issues, starting Tuesday, 110,000 vaccine slots are scheduled to be administered at two United Center parking lots in what will be Illinois' largest mass vaccination site.
The 30,000-square-foot facility under half a dozen climate controlled tents begin with a check-in station. After checking in, people with appointments will be led to one of three dozen vaccination stations, all spaced 6 feet apart with shots administered by a medical team from the 101st Airborne who arrived in Chicago Friday.
The facility also includes a post-injection observation tent as well as bathroom facilities and shuttle services.
Walk-up vaccinations will be done in Parking Lot E, northeast of the arena. Drive-up vaccinations will be in Parking Lot C. People who need parking can use Lot A.
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March 09, 2021 at 06:12PM
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Chicago COVID vaccine: United Center COVID-19 vaccination site opens Tuesday; Pritzker, Lightfoot expected to attend - WLS-TV
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