When NPR Illinois called the hotline Friday afternoon shortly after it launched, the agent who answered said she was based in Jacksonville, Fla. Tennessee-based Xtend Healthcare is a medical billing firm owned by student loan collection company Navient, but Xtend has also been contracted to run New Jersey’s vaccine hotline and was controversially awarded a no-bid contract for contact tracing efforts in Tennessee. 25.Ī spokeswoman for Pritzker said the state contracted with Xtend Healthcare to run the hotline. According to documentation posted on IDPH’s website, a contract award was expected on Feb. The state quietly put out a request for proposals for companies to run the hotline on Feb. The hotline launched Friday afternoon with little fanfare, no press conference and no advance notice. “While vaccine is still limited, our allocations are increasing significantly and we want all Illinoisans to have access as quickly and easily as possible.”

“We want to make sure our most vulnerable populations, such as our seniors and individuals in heavily impacted communities who may not have access to online services, are able to make appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” IDPH Director Ngozi Ezike said in a press release issued Friday. Seniors with limited computer literacy, Illinoisans with no internet access and those who do not speak English have been at a disadvantage for getting vaccine appointments, advocates say, because pharmacies and public health departments have prioritized online platforms to schedule shots. JB Pritzker’s administration to do for months. The Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday afternoon launched a COVID-19 vaccine hotline - something advocates have been asking Gov.

Quincy illinois covid vaccine