Nearly a dozen U.S. House Democrats criticized the Biden administration for restricting vaccine appointments in Illinois based on equity goals.
“Many of our constituents who fall in the vulnerable category, but who don’t live in Chicago, felt frustrated with the recent determination to limit eligibility at the United Center Federal Mass Vaccination Center for Illinois residents,” 11 Illinois Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday. “Their confusion was exacerbated with the abruptness of the announcement, and the consequent uncertainty surrounding their future access to a vaccination appointment.”
Federal officials restricted who is eligible to receive the vaccine at the United Center mass vaccination site last week to those living in nine Chicago zip codes, seniors aged 65 and over, people over 16 with certain underlying health conditions, and front-line workers. The change came after suburbanites took up most of the appointments, not Chicagoans from minority communities.
“Pockets of vulnerability exist all across our state,” the 11 Democrats wrote to Robert Fenton, acting administrator for FEMA. “Restricting these populations from seeking appointments at the United Center Federal Mass Vaccination Center is a departure from the site’s initial message of ensuring all underserved Illinoisans have access to COVID-19 vaccines."
