Chicago becomes first city to use free COVID-19 vaccine scheduling tool for cities and states

A new tool that streamlines finding real-time COVID-19 vaccine appointments and booking them is available free of charge for any city, state and large care organization to implement.

Chicago is the first city to implement the tool, known as the Zocdoc Vaccine Scheduler, according to a news release. In Chicago, the vaccine scheduler aggregates data from select Chicago point of dispensing sites and also from multiple local care organizations.

“Our goal in Chicago is to vaccinate as many residents as possible as fast as we can,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in the release. “While vaccine availability is still very limited nationwide, this exciting new partnership with Zocdoc is another step toward empowering individuals and families as we fight this disease and lean into the historic recovery that is sure to follow.”

Chicago residents can visit Zocdoc’s website, confirm their location and eligibility, view real-time vaccination locations and appointment availability and book an appointment, the release notes. The tool has built-in support for over 100 languages.

Healthcare providers can use Zocdoc’s web-based calendar for online scheduling, or they can integrate the tool into their existing scheduling system, according to the release.

Zocdoc, a digital healthcare marketplace, has also released a personalized vaccine information distribution service that anyone can sign up for, according to the release.

“Zocdoc provides a great service that will help people access vaccines as the supply increases over the coming weeks and months, and Chicago residents can also sign up to be notified when new appointments become available,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady said in the release.

As of Feb. 4, about seven percent of Chicagoans had received the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, per city data. The city is currently in phase 1B of vaccinations, in which residents over 65 and specific groups of highest risk and front-line essential workers are eligible for the vaccine. Phase 1B is expected to last through March.

“We will still need people to be patient as the vaccine rollout continues, but we’re excited about this partnership as it provides Chicagoans another option to connect with providers as they receive more vaccines,” Arwady said in the release.

Click here for more information about Zocdoc’s Vaccine Scheduler, which is free of charge to cities and states.