Uber teamed up with the city to donate 20,000 free rides to Chicagoans to get people to and from the site. Transportation is a key issue as Chicago works to vaccinate people who live in the areas hardest hit by the virus. "There is no reason why we could not do a better job of targeting folks in an equitable manner," said Mahmassani.
When the United Center site was announced two weeks ago, Mahmassani suggested multiple smaller vaccination centers in targeted areas, rather than one large centralized site, would more efficiently bring the vaccine to communities of greatest need. Mahmassani said there should have been a direct outreach component at the outset. "It's been learn as you go, adjust things, and it's created more confusion and stress." Hani Mahmassani, director of Northwestern University Transportation Center. It's been the past few months," said Prof. "It's been more than the last couple of days. We're going to have more of that to come."īut should officials have anticipated a first-come, first-served appointment system would lead to disparities? "If you are in one of these zip codes, there will be additional outreach," Dr. "And they said they will send an email in approximately 3 weeks, so I don't have to fight and go online and search and waste time." "My only question was, 'When will I be scheduled for my second shot?" Joyce Wixson said. "I thought I would have to wait longer in line." "I did not think it was going to be this easy," said Barbara Carlton, 85. And there were some, including a one-hour delay getting up and running.įor a while, the line to get into the United Center's brand new vaccination site snaked around the block, but most people were in and out within an hour. With only about 2,500 vaccinations scheduled, it was a soft opening at Illinois' largest mass vaccination site, meant to work out the glitches. Instead, Chicago and Cook County officials are conducting targeted outreach.ĬHICAGO (WLS) - Vaccinations started at the United Center Tuesday, exactly one year after Governor JB Pritzker issued a statewide disaster proclamation for the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials say the 50,000 unfilled appointments at the United Center are not yet publicly available.
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