CHICAGO – Today, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Chicago Department of Public Health announced that the city will reach the milestone of getting 77 percent of Chicagoans having at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Thanksgiving, reaching that goal weeks early. In September, the City of Chicago launched Protect Chicago 77–a citywide campaign to ensure that 77 percent of all Chicagoans ages 12 and up started their COVID-19 vaccination series by the end of the year. And as of Monday, 76.7 percent of Chicagoans age 12 and up have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

“As we prepare to celebrate this milestone, we also acknowledge that there is still work to do to protect our communities from COVID-19 and move past this pandemic,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “Across Chicago, there are still too many residents who have yet to get their COVID-19 vaccine, and with eligibility recently expanding to children as young as five, the City is deepening its efforts to reach our hardest-hit communities and connect them with information about and access to these life-saving vaccines.”

“Our communities have gone through much distress during this pandemic, but today we are one step closer to overcoming this virus,” said Alderman Felix Cardona Jr., 31^st Ward. “As we get ready to celebrate reaching 77 percent of Chicago residents vaccinated, our work does not end here. We will continue to go door-to-door and person-to-person to provide data-driven education and resources for our residents to have access to the COVID-19 vaccines and ensure everyone in each community is safe and healthy.”  

Equity has been at the center of the City’s vaccine roll-out from the beginning and remains so as part of Protect Chicago 77. Working closely with local community stakeholders to develop tailored vaccination and engagement strategies to help residents in those neighborhoods get vaccinated has always been key to the City’s equitable COVID-19 vaccine rollout–through Protect Chicago Plus, which brought vaccine directly to the communities most impacted by COVID-19; community events and clinics; door-to-door canvassing to answer questions about vaccines; and by bringing vaccine directly to residences through Protect Chicago At Home.

This work continues through outreach in communities around vaccines as part of CDPH’s Healthy Chicago Equity Zones. CDPH allocated $9.6 million in COVID-19 relief funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish six geographic areas covering the entire city, led by trusted regional and community organizations. With the support of CDPH, these organizations have and will continue to lead conversations in neighborhoods, build partnerships, host vaccination clinics, and more to ensure that all 77 neighborhoods increase their vaccination rates.

"The City of Chicago reaching the 77% vaccination status is representative of the great work of community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and healthcare provider partners. It is an example of outstanding collaborative work in addressing this horrible pandemic informed by data, and guided by CDPH and the Mayor's Office," said Carlos Nelson.

“West Side United's engagement in Protect Chicago is a continuation of our health equity commitment to the West Side and the City. As co-convenors of the Mayor's Racial Equity Rapid Response Team, it was important for us to help engage public health, healthcare and community leaders to create sustainable and equitable responses to COVID-19. As a CDPH Health Equity Zone Regional lead, we are inspired by the timely and equitable strategies our community leads implemented that supported residents of the West Side to get vaccinated and contribute to the city's 77% milestone."

“Seventy-seven percent was never the finish line for this effort to keep our communities safe,” said CDPH Commissioner Allison Arwady, M.D. “Especially as we enter the winter months and holiday season, getting vaccinated is the best way to protect your family from serious illness. Everyone who is eligible should get vaccinated, including getting a booster dose now that federal health officials have approved it for anyone 18 and over.”

All COVID-19 vaccines are offered at no cost, no insurance and no government ID required. Learn more at Chicago.gov/COVIDvax.

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