Dear Employer: Thank you for all you are doing to provide the goods and services our nation needs. We recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges, forcing you to continually adapt while trying to keep your employees and their families safe.
We are eager to support your existing efforts with another effective tool to stop the pandemic—a COVID-19 vaccine. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine gives you and your employees an added layer of protection against COVID-19.
Chicago is currently under Phase 1b of our vaccine rollout. Under this phase, frontline essential workers are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Frontline essential workers include first responders; grocery store workers and day care workers; early education and K-12 educators; workers in public transit, manufacturing, and agriculture; correctional officers and a limited number of government workers, including elected officials and postal service workers.
It’s important to vaccinate frontline essential workers because of their role in maintaining critical infrastructure operations and their increased risk of getting COVID-19 and spreading it to others.
Frontline essential workers are at the most increased risk of getting COVID-19 because their work-related duties must be performed on site and involve being in close contact (within 6 feet for a cumulative total of 15 minutes in a 24-hour period) of the public or coworkers.
Chicago began Phase 1b of vaccination on Monday, January 25, but vaccine supply is limited and patience will be key. We expect it to take at least through February and March for frontline essential workers to get their first dose of vaccine because of limited supply and the number of providers who are able to administer the vaccine.
Employers with employees in prioritized essential worker groups have three main ways to help their employees get vaccinated:
1. Enroll as a vaccinator. Your facility must meet several requirements to enroll your site as a vaccinator, so this option is best for large facilities with healthcare staff. For more information, visit www.chicago.gov/covidvax and go to the Employers tab.
2. Partner with a vaccinator. If you have partnered with a pharmacy or clinic to offer onsite flu clinics in the past, please reach out to existing contacts first to schedule vaccination. Please note that these services are in high demand. This option is recommended for businesses with more than 250 employees. A short list of third-party providers is also available at www.chicago.gov/covidvax on the Employers tab.
3.City of Chicago POD sites. If you represent an essential business with less than 250 employees in all Chicago locations, you can fill out this survey for vaccination at a City of Chicago Point of Dispensing (POD) site. Only one representative from the business (e.g. the business owner or other management) should complete the survey on behalf of all employees. Include all employees, including temporary or contract staff when completing this survey.
The survey is for businesses in one of the following industries:
• Phase 1b priority – food and agriculture (including veterinary health), manufacturing, grocery stores, public transit, education, child care
• Phase 1c priority – transportation and logistics, waste and wastewater, food service, construction, finance, information technology and communications, energy, legal, media, public safety
Employees can also get vaccinated through their health care provider, including their primary care provider, health clinic, or hospital where they have received medical care in the past, or their pharmacy.
Please note that most health care providers will be giving priority to those ages 65 years and older. Employees should reach out directly to their providers to schedule appointments.
Pharmacies each have their own registration link which can be found at the follow links: Walgreens, Mariano’s, Walmart, Jewel Osco. The City of Chicago does not endorse any of the listed organizations. This list is provided only as a convenience. See the full disclaimer.
Some of your workers may be hesitant to get the vaccine. Before they agree to be vaccinated, they will want answers to their questions about the process for developing these vaccines and information about safety and effectiveness. You can help inform your workers about the vaccines and help them feel confident when they decide to get vaccinated.
These COVID-19 Vaccine communication resources were created to help you provide clear, consistent, and credible information about COVID-19 vaccines to your employees. We encourage you to review and customize these materials:
• Key messages: Use these key messages about COVID-19 vaccine to educate your employees.
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs): Use these to help answer questions about COVID-19 vaccine.
• Toolbox Talks: Use these scripts and key messages at staff meetings to educate, help answer questions about COVID-19 vaccines, encourage and support your staff in their decision to get vaccinated.
• Employer Equity Guide: Use this guide as a reference tool to help ensure equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine among your staff.
•Employee Vaccine Sentiment Survey: Utilize these questions as a guide to draft an employee survey.
•Facts about COVID-19 vaccines: This plain-language fact sheet is available in several languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Polish, and Simplified Chinese.
•Posters/flyers: These posters/flyers encourage and support essential workers in their decision to get vaccinated. You can print and post them in your buildings and other locations.
•Social media content: These messages and images are for use on various social media channels that your organization uses, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can use them as-is with the hashtag #ProtectChicago or include your own identity.
Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available, and now we have a powerful new tool—vaccines. When you support COVID-19 vaccination, you are helping to protect against COVID-19 in your business.
We appreciate your ongoing support.
For more COVID-19 vaccine information, please visit chicago.gov/COVIDvax.