Did you get a vaccine sign-up code from Cook County this weekend? Here’s what it means.
Over the weekend, many suburban Cook County residents were distracted from their Super Bowl plans with a text message containing a sign-up code for COVID-19 vaccinations.
People took to social media to ask about the message, wondering if it was a scam, or if it meant they could get vaccinated now.
In short, the code is real, but it won’t allow most people to sign up for vaccinations right now. The message was sent largely to people who will be eligible for shots during the next phase of vaccinations, 1c. It was sent to people who filled out a Cook County Department of Public Health survey in recent weeks, giving information that indicated they may be eligible for 1c, spokesman Don Bolger said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that 1c include people with certain underlying health conditions and certain types of essential workers, such as those who work in food service, construction and finance. The state of Illinois is currently in phase 1b, vaccinating people ages 65 and older and front-line essential workers, such as teachers, public transportation workers and grocery store employees. It’s not yet known when the state will move into phase 1c.
The text message from Cook County said, in many cases, “COVID Vaccine Updates. You are in priority group 1C” and included sign-up numbers. When people in 1c become eligible for shots, they can then use those sign-up numbers to schedule appointments with Cook County at https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov/.
People in 1c will be notified when it’s their turn to sign up for vaccination appointments, Bolger said.
Some people also received messages saying they were not eligible for vaccinations in suburban Cook County after filling out the survey. Only those who live or work in suburban Cook County are eligible for shots through the Cook County Department of Public Health, except for people in Chicago, Stickney, Skokie, Evanston or Oak Park, which all have their own health departments.
Some of those people, however, may also have received sign-up numbers, following the messages saying they were not eligible for vaccinations in suburban Cook County. That’s because the county’s system is, at the moment, automatically sending sign-up numbers to everyone who filled out the survey and may possibly be in 1c, even if they aren’t technically eligible for shots through Cook County, Bolger said.
If people did not fill out the survey but want sign-up numbers, they can still get those by calling 833-308-1988.
