Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what’s happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

When registration began for the United Center mass vaccination site in Chicago on Thursday, the majority of early appointments were snapped up by people who don’t live in the city, officials said. Fewer than 40% were made by Chicagoans.

As of Sunday afternoon, appointments on Zocdoc are now restricted to Chicagoans, said officials, who cited federal guidance to make vaccine distribution more equitable and to reach more vulnerable communities. For those in suburban Cook County, there will be appointments available, but the county will announce that registration process in the coming days, according to a news release.

At the same time that non-Chicagoans were restricted from making United Center appointments Sunday, slots also were opened up to those age 18 to 65 with underlying health conditions that could put people at risk of more severe or even deadly COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Illinois public health officials on Sunday reported that 98,550 doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered Saturday, a day after the state set a daily record with 134,239 doses. The seven-day rolling average for vaccine doses is 93,183 doses, a new record.

Officials also reported 1,068 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 14 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 1,198,335 and the statewide death toll to 20,763 since the start of the pandemic.

Illinois COVID-19 vaccine tracker: Here’s where the state stands

COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on key metrics in your area

Illinois coronavirus graphs: The latest data on deaths, confirmed cases, tests and more

COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

Join our Facebook group to get the latest COVID-19 information from Tribune reporters and editors

Here’s what’s happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

7:05 a.m.: Chicago Park District begins spring program registration Monday, in-person Spring Break camp for kids 6-12 among offers

Registration for this spring’s online Chicago Park District programs and for people in part of the city begins Monday, as according to the city and Park District.

Chicagoans west of California Avenue signing up for in-person programs and anyone registering for online programs can start registering at 9 a.m. Monday, according to the Chicago Park District.

Much of the parks’ programming has been online since the beginning of the pandemic, although the district held limited summer camps and fall and winter in-person programs. Among programs starting registration Monday were spring break camps for children ages 6 to 12.

Spring programs, including limited indoor pool programs, start April 5 and run through June 13, according to the Park District.

“The Chicago Park District will continue to offer a vast selection of virtual programs and experiences for those who wish to stay active and engaged at home,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office said in a news release.

Programs for people with disabilities and older Chicagoans will remain online for the spring session, according to the Park District.

For registration details and other information check the Park District’s website. — Chicago Tribune staff

6 a.m.: For some Chicago teachers who want a COVID-19 vaccine before returning to school, unpaid leave is the only option

When a fraction of Brady Tilghman’s eighth grade students return to in-person learning Monday while the rest continue remote learning, someone else will be teaching all of them. As of Friday, he didn’t yet know who.

The situation was making him emotional. “I’m not OK with it, and they deserve instruction,” he said.

While parents have been patient with him and understanding that he is the messenger in cases like this — when he couldn’t say who would be teaching their kids in three days because he didn’t know — they have much less patience left for Chicago Public Schools, he said.

Tilghman, an eighth grade math and science teacher at Oglesby Elementary in Chicago’s Gresham neighborhood, just got his second COVID-19 vaccine dose, and is waiting the proscribed two weeks for maximum protection to kick in before joining students in the classroom. For CPS educators like Tilghman who don’t have approved accommodations to teach remotely, that choice means taking an unpaid leave of absence.

As of Thursday, the district’s online “vaccine tracker” showed at least 3,586 staff members had received vaccines at CPS sites, which may not include doses administered to staff through partnerships or independent providers. CPS had also offered or scheduled 16,380 vaccine appointments and offered 30,662 vaccine “opportunities” to staff members, meaning the district sent a notification that they could sign up, according to the vaccine tracker.

Read more here. —Hannah Leone and Alice Yin

6 a.m.: Chicago Medical Society to help provide background checks so doctors can give COVID-19 vaccinations

After raising concerns that local health departments were slowing the approval of volunteers to give COVID-19 vaccinations, the Chicago Medical Society says it will help clear doctors who want to help.

Now that the supply of vaccines is expected to surge, health officials say, the issue of having more vaccinators available is taking on greater urgency.

Some county officials have required volunteer health care workers to submit fingerprints for background checks — even though state regulators already require such background checks to issue medical licenses.

The result, critics say, is that doctors may be licensed to perform surgery, but be prohibited from volunteering to put shots into arms. Still, some health care professionals received their licenses years ago, so local officials may decree a new check due to liability concerns.

The medical society has 1,200 doctors ready to volunteer to administer inoculations, but they’ve been held up by redundant requirements, said Dr. Vishnu Chundi, chair of the society’s COVID-19 task force. In a letter last month to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the society also expressed similar concerns about nurses and other health care workers.

“We want to consolidate this volunteer list to make sure they have a clean history,” Chundi said. “We have a big group of people who want to help. They’re trying to figure out a way through it without the old system that was slow and conservative in a time of crisis.”

Read more here. —Robert McCoppin

In case you missed it

Here are some recent stories related to COVID-19

COVID-19 vaccines given to hundreds of University of Illinois employees who weren’t yet eligible, including coaches and instructors.

How does a mass vaccination site work? Take a look inside a vacant K-Mart in Des Plaines.

With 1 million Illinoisans now fully vaccinated for COVID-19, here’s a look at what the data says about who those people are.

Debate over wearing masks lingers in Indiana despite governor’s mandate.

Will the world ever really get over COVID-19? What we learned from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Chicago talk.