4 Major Illinois Retailers Now Offering Same Day Vaccinations

I'm not really quick to agree with Governor Pritzker on much of anything, but it would seem that he was correct on Wednesday when he declared that "the days of vaccine scarcity are over" here in Illinois.

The governor made his comment about vaccine scarcity while filling us in on where we stand in our goal to "Reopen Illinois." The governor has targeted next Friday, May 14th, as the day our state moves into what Pritzker has called the "Bridge Phase."

The Bridge Phase is slated to be started on the 14th of this month, with a planned full reopening of the state, or Phase 5, starting on Friday, June 11th. The Bridge Phase further loosens restrictions and expands capacities to allow, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), 60 percent capacity at theaters, gyms, offices, retail, museums, and amusement parks. The next stop is Phase 5, or full reopening.

The governor and Illinois health authorities have tied much of the reopening plans to the percentage of Illinoisans who get themselves vaccinated, and the IDPH says that we've been doing a pretty good job of raising those numbers. IDPH says that 60 percent of Illinois adults have gotten at least the first injection, and 85 percent of those aged 65-plus have gotten it done.

Patch.com reports that in an effort to get those vaccination numbers even higher, Governor Pritzker announced that COVID vaccines will be made available to doctors' offices statewide for administering to patients who want the vaccine. As of Thursday, over 1,000 physicians had signed up. If you don't wish to go to your doctor for the vaccine, some other players have stepped up to offer it:

Walgreens announced on Wednesday they would offer walk-ins at more than 500 stores in Illinois. CVS has availability for same-day appointments at 300 stores, and Walmart and Sam's Club are offering walk-ins at all 175 of their pharmacies in the state.

The same-day vaccination offers are contingent on supplies being available, and you're being asked to call ahead just to make sure that there's enough at your preferred location.