Booster Boosterism: Pritzker Plugs COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots

CHICAGO — State officials are preparing for the expected expansion of eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to millions of additional Illinois residents by the end of this week.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a statewide campaign to boost uptake of the additional jab by focusing on increased education about boosters and helping long-term care and skilled nursing facilities put together plans to administer them to staff and residents.

About 1.5 million Illinois residents are currently eligible for vaccine boosters, which have been recommended for seniors and others who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine more than six months ago. But many more will likely join them soon, the governor said.

"Most American adults who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 will be eligible to get a booster shot in the coming weeks and months," Pritzker said Tuesday at a news conference in Chicago.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is due to meet to consider approval of a booster for those who received a Moderna vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration has already recommended it for seniors, those at high risk for exposure to the virus or severe disease if infected.

The CDC is also set to review the FDA recommendation of a second dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for everyone at least two months after the first dose, while the FDA is reportedly also planning to allow people to "mix-and-match" by receiving a different type of vaccine as a booster than they did for the initial dose.

Pritzker emphasized booster shots were a normal part of modern medicine, likening the coronavirus booster the flu, tetanus and whooping cough vaccines. Vaccines have saved millions of lives across the world, he said.

"On the other hand, choosing not to get vaccinated can be deadly," Pritzker said. "From June to September of 2021, approximately 90,000 COVID-19 deaths among U.S. adults likely would have been prevented if they had chosen to get vaccinated. Ninety Thousand. It doesn't have to be this way."

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said the data is clear that the overwhelming majority of breakthrough cases involving severe illness have occurred in people over age 65. Rates of hospitalization and death for infected seniors last month were 29 times higher for those that are not vaccinated.

Ezike recalled the devastating effects of COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities, and urged resident to avoid another deadly autumn.

"We as Illinoisans will not stand idly by and relive the tragedy that we saw, especially when we have a powerful tool that will prevent those hospitalizations and deaths in our beloved family members in long-term care facilities," Ezike said.

The state public health director recommended residents contact congregate living facilities where family members and loved ones live to ensure they have a plan to provide booster shots. As of last week, about 18 percent of Illinois residents aged 65 and over had received a booster.

"You have to check and make sure that your treasured seniors and loved ones in the long-term care, in the nursing homes have been 'boosted,'" Ezike said.

As for younger Illinoisans, Ezike said the FDA is slated to consider clearing Pfizer vaccines for use in children aged 5 to 12 on Oct. 26, with the CDC committee due to meet on the subject Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.

The governor repeated his offer of state resources to Chicago in case of staffing shortages triggered by the city's recently implemented employee vaccine-or-testing mandate. Data released by the city Monday shows more than a third of police and more than a quarter of firefighters have not provided their vaccination status through the city's portal, and some officers have been placed on non-paid status as a result.

Pritzker said the Illinois State Police employ about 1,900 state troopers, who have responsibilities throughout the entire state, but some are available to Chicago or any other city that requests them.

"We have offered, to any municipality who asks, the ability to request state police and — in the event of some serious emergency — National Guard," he said. "But in most cases, state police, and we have, in fact, deployed them, when asked, over the last 18 months, and we'll continue to make that offer."

Pritzker was also asked if he had any plans to adjust or modify his executive order requiring the wearing of face coverings indoors. He said he would like to see infection rates continue to decline heading into Thanksgiving, and that he would "like very much to get to a place where we can remove certain mask mandates."