COVID-19 Vaccine & Testing

COVID-19 Vaccination

All Illinois residents ages 6 months and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. To schedule an appointment, call 708-PILLARS (708-745-5277). We will continue to prioritize access for Pillars Community Health patients and clients.

The Health Center will call you when an appointment is available for your second dose. The information from Moderna is that you can have it anytime after 28-42 days after the first dose; for Pfizer, you can have it anytime 21-42 days after the first dose.

Vaccines for Children and Teens: Children across the country are continuing to test positive for COVID-19. While most will have minor symptoms, some children are getting seriously ill and suffering long-term effects, particularly those with underlying conditions such as obesity or asthma. Some children infected with COVID-19 may not get sick right away but a few weeks later may come down with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome of Children (MIS-C). They develop fever, rashes, red eyes, diarrhea, and vomiting. The inflammation can affect the heart, blood vessels and other organs. Even if they don’t become ill, they can spread COVID-19 to others who may be immunocompromised. We strongly urge vaccination of individuals ages 6 months and older.

Vaccine Cards: The Illinois Department of Public Health recently launched Vax Verify, a portal that allows Illinois residents ages 18 and older to access and check their COVID-19 vaccination record. See https://idphportal.illinois.gov.

Boosters: Booster doses are common for many vaccines. Scientists and medical experts are continuing to research waning immunity and how well the vaccines protect against mutations of the virus.

The CDC now recommends that everyone 5 years old and up receives a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least 5 months after their second dose. All adults 18 and older who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine are also eligible to receive a second dose.

The CDC has authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 booster vaccine for teenagers ages 12 - 17.

The following information applies to boosters for children ages 5–11 years, teens ages 12–17 years, and adults ages 18 years and older. Children under the age of 5 years are not recommended to receive a booster at this time.

People ages 5 years and older

People ages 5 years and older may only get the updated (bivalent) booster. They can no longer get an original (monovalent) Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna booster.

• Children and Teens ages 5-17 years may only get the updated (bivalent) Pfizer-BioNTech booster even if they completed the primary series with a different product.
• Adults ages 18 years and older may get a different product for their updated (bivalent) booster than they got for their primary series. They can get either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna updated (bivalent) booster.