Are COVID vaccines still available in Illinois? What to know under new guidance
After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved updated COVID shots with new restrictions on eligibility, where and how can you get a COVID vaccine in the metro-east?
The FDA has recently limited its guidance to only approve COVID vaccines to people older than 65 or those who are at increased risk of severe complications.
However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has not yet made its fall COVID vaccine recommendation, NPR reported Sept. 6. Several states have laws and regulations that tie no-cost coverage of vaccines to guidance from the ACIP. As a result, COVID vaccine availability and coverage currently varies by state.
The Illinois Department of Public Health will provide its own vaccine guidance to Illinois health care providers and residents by the end of September, according to an Aug. 29 press release.
IDPH will consider national and state-level data, guidance from medical specialty societies, state and national experts, other states and the Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee, the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and other sources to make its recommendations, the press release continued.
“Given our deep concern surrounding vaccine policy coming out of Washington, IDPH is exploring every avenue to ensure that Illinois residents have science-based and evidence-formed recommendations about, and access to, immunizations that protect all of us from serious illness and disease,” Illinois Department of Public Health officials wrote in a Sept. 5 emailed statement to the News-Democrat.
At the same time federal officials are limiting guidelines on who should receive a COVID vaccine, the U.S. is seeing a significant spike in COVID test positivity rates as well as an increase in emergency department visits, according to data from the CDC.
Here’s what to know about getting the new COVID vaccine from local providers.
St. Clair County Health Department
Officials with the St. Clair County Health Department plan to have the new COVID vaccine available in the “near future,” spokesperson Brenda Fedak wrote in a Sept. 9 email to the News-Democrat.
“We are waiting for ACIP’s recommendations and from that information, IDPH’s recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine for the 2025-26 season,” Fedak said.
Walgreens
COVID vaccines are currently available at Illinois Walgreens locations, spokesperson Brigid Sweeney wrote in a Sept. 5 email to the News-Democrat.
Eligible patients, defined as all adults age 65 or older and individuals younger than 65 with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19, do not need a prescription to get the COVID vaccine at Illinois Walgreens.
Illinoisans who do not meet the eligibility requirements but still want to get a COVID vaccine must get a valid prescription.
“Patients should speak with their provider if they have questions about getting an off-label prescription,” Sweeney said.
You can schedule an appointment online to get your COVID vaccine from Walgreens.
CVS
“We are currently offering COVID-19 vaccines to eligible patients in Illinois and many other states,” CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault wrote in a Sept. 5 email to the News-Democrat.
Prescriptions are not required for eligible patients to receive a COVID vaccine at CVS in Illinois, Thibault said. The federal eligibility guidelines apply.
Similarly to Walgreens’ vaccination policy, CVS will provide COVID vaccines to people who do not meet federal eligibility guidelines if they obtain and present a valid prescription.
“Patients are asked to attest to their eligibility during the appointment scheduling process on the CVS Health app and CVS.com, or at the pharmacy or MinuteClinic when the patient is completing the health screening form,” Thibault said.
You can schedule an appointment online to get your COVID vaccine from CVS.
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