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Illinois Department of Public Health Announces College Vaccination Days to Encourage Students to Receive COVID-19 Vaccinations

News – Friday, April 16, 2021

Vaccinations available at state-supported mass vaccination sites for College and University Students Across Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – With young people driving the increase in COVID-19 cases in Illinois, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is announcing “College Vaccination Days” to encourage all community college and public and private university students across Illinois to get vaccinated at mass vaccination sites.  This weekend and next week state-supported mass vaccination sites across Illinois will have COVID-19 vaccination appointments available for college and university students.  IDPH is partnering with colleges and universities in Illinois to help them direct their students to state-supported sites.

Beginning in April, the highest case count in Illinois was among those in their 20s.  Over the past month, cases among those 18-24 years of age doubled.

“Our young adults have a key role to play in bringing this pandemic to an end, and I’m proud to make it easier for our community college and public and private university students to access these life-saving vaccines,” said Governor JB Pritzker.  “Getting vaccinated is about protecting yourself, but it’s also about protecting your professors, your parents, your peers, campus staff, and the greater community you call home.” 

“College campuses are microcosms of the communities in which they are located, and if we see an increase in cases on campus, we will see an increase in cases in the community,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.  “Especially as we are starting to see variants become more prevalent and the number of cases and hospitals increasing statewide, we need to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible. With young people driving our increase in cases, this is an important opportunity for our college and university students to protect themselves and their communities.”

The following mass vaccination sites will have appointments available specifically for college and university students on the following days.  Colleges and universities will have the links where students can register for an appointment.

Date Location Address
Saturday
April 17
Adams County
Oakley Linsey Center
300 Civic Center Plaza
Quincy
Sunday
April 18
Kane County
Former Carson Pirie Scott
970 North Lake St.
Aurora
Kane County
Elgin Eastside Recreation Center
1800 E. Chicago St.
Elgin
Kane County
Former Sam’s Club
501 N. Randall Rd.
Batavia
Madison County
Gateway Convention Center
1 Gateway Drive
Collinsville
Sangamon County
Orr Building – State Fairgrounds
801 E. Sangamon Ave.
Springfield
St. Clair County
Belle-Clair Fairgrounds
200 S. Belt East
Belleville
Winnebago County
Former K-Mart
1321 Sandy Hollow Rd.
Rockford
Monday
April 19
Cook County
Arlington Heights Health Center
3250 N. Arlington Heights Rd.
Arlington Heights
Cook County
Former K-Mart
1155 E. Oakton St.
Des Plaines
Cook County
Forest Park - Former HOBO
7600 Roosevelt Rd.
Forest Park
Cook County
Matteson – Former Target
4647 Promenade Way
Matteson
Cook County
South Suburban College
15800 State St.
South Holland
Cook County
Tinley Park Convention Center
18451 Convention Center Drive
Tinley Park
Cook County
Triton College
2000 5th Ave.
River Grover
Tuesday
April 20
DuPage County
Fairgrounds Building 1
2015 Manchester Rd.
Wheaton
Grundy County
Shabbona Middle School
725 School St.
Morris
Lake County
Lake County Fairgrounds
1060 E. Peterson Rd.
Grayslake
Will County
Former Toys R Us
3128 Voyager Lane
Joliet

Mass vaccination sites in DeKalb, McDonough, and McLean counties have been and will continue to provide vaccinations to students as part of the Rapid Response Vaccination Teams that are deployed to areas seeing increasing cases.

All mass vaccination locations will be administering either Moderna, or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.  At the recommendation of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, IDPH is pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and it will not be administered at mass vaccination sites until further guidance from the CDC.  Students can make appointments to get their second doses of the vaccine when getting their first dose. 

For information on how to make an appointment to receive the vaccine at other mass vaccination sites or other locations, visit coronavirus.illinois.gov. For those having difficulty navigating online services to make vaccination appointments, the State’s Vaccine Appointment Call Center can help.  The call center, at 1-833-621-1284, is available seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight, can take TTY calls, and uses both English and Spanish speaking call agents with the

availability for translation into other languages. Answers to frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccines can be found on the IDPH website.