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Are bank employees included in phase 1C of Illinois’s COVID-19 vaccination plan?

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The Illinois Department of Public Health’s latest COVID-19 Vaccination Plan, dated March 20, 2021, has eliminated Phase 1C from the state’s vaccination rollout. According to previous versions of the plan, Phase 1C would have allowed “other essential workers,” a category that included “finance” employees, with bank tellers provided as an example, to receive vaccinations before members of the general public.

However, the state’s new vaccination plan now provides priority only to certain essential workers —  government employees, higher education staff, and news media (eligible March 22, 2021), and food and beverage service workers, religious leaders, and construction trades and businesses supporting building and infrastructure repair (eligible March 29, 2021). Effective April 12, 2021, all populations age sixteen and above will be eligible for the vaccine.

However, Chicago is taking a different approach and will make all finance employees eligible in Phase 1C. According to Chicago’s COVID-19 vaccination plan website, all other essential workers, including finance employees (employees of institutions such as banks, credit unions, consumer lenders, financial institutions), are eligible to receive the vaccine in phase 1C, beginning on March 29, 2021. Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Arwady clarified in a press conference that phase 1C eligibility at city-run vaccination sites will be limited to Chicago residents.

Additionally, other Illinois counties may soon expand eligibility. Dr. Arwady recently announced that the IDPH is authorizing counties with slow vaccine demand “to begin vaccinating all residents 16 and older at their immediate discretion, in order to use the vaccine doses they currently have available.”

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

  • Illinois Department of Public Health, State of Illinois COVID-19 Vaccination Plan V5.0, pages 10, 15–16 (January 27, 2021) (“Phase 1C: . . . Other essential workers . . . Phase 1C. . . . Other essential workers may include: . . . Finance (e.g. Bank Tellers))
     
  • Illinois Department of Public Health, State of Illinois COVID-19 Vaccination Plan V7.0, pages 18– 19 (March 20, 2021) (“As of March 22nd , 2021, the following priority groups will be eligible: Government Employees. . . . Higher Education Staff. . . . News Media. . . . As of March 29th, 2021, the following priority groups will be eligible. . . . Food and Beverage Service Workers. . . . Religious Leaders. . . . Construction Trades and Businesses Supporting Building and Infrastructure Repair. . . . Phase 2: Effective April 12th, 2021, all populations not specified above will be eligible for vaccine. . . . The rest of the population 16 and Above”)
     
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Phases and Planning in Chicago (“1C estimated start: March 29, 2021 (Most vaccinated in April and May). . . . All other essential workers. . . . Finance. . . . Definitions for Phase 1C Groups. . . . Finance. . . . Banks; currency exchanges; consumer lending; credit unions; appraisers; title companies; financial markets; financial institutions; institutions that sell financial services; accounting services, and insurance services.”)
     
  • NBC Chicago, Are You Eligible? Here’s Who Qualifies for COVID Vaccine Under Chicago’s Phase 1C (March 17, 2021) (“‘I want to clarify that beginning March 29, only Chicago residents will be able to be vaccinated at City of Chicago vaccination sites,’ Arwady said. ‘We’ve asked health care providers to continue prioritizing vaccination for their existing patients who have the most underlying conditions, so we don’t require residency requirements for you to get vaccinated with your regular doctor or when we are doing employer-focused vaccinations, which is likely to be able to begin, probably more in earnest in May.’ Arwady said the city won’t force a residency requirement, but said for public vaccination sites ‘at least for the next couple of months, we will be limiting that eligibility for Chicago residents.’”)
     
  • IDPH Press Release, Illinois Taking Aggressive Action to Address First Signs of Possible Resurgence (March 26, 2021) (“The Illinois Department of Public Health has seen vaccine demand slow in several counties throughout the state, with early signs of unfilled appointments and increased vaccine inventory. IDPH is authorizing those communities to begin vaccinating all residents 16 and older at their immediate discretion, in order to use the vaccine doses they currently have available.”)