COVID-19 Booster Shots: Where To Find Them In Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Booster shots, available at pharmacies and clinics in Highland Park and Highwood, are the best defense against COVID-19 illnesses as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads across the country, according to health officials.

Breakthrough COVID-19 cases from the omicron variant — infections among the vaccinated — are less common among people who have received their third vaccination shots, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The omicron variant, first reported in South Africa on Nov. 24, has been detected in all but a handful of states, including Illinois.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said Friday the Pfizer and Moderna booster shots work well against the omicron variant and that there’s no need for a specific vaccine to fight it.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the omicron variant is becoming the dominant coronavirus strain.

It made up fewer than one in 100 cases for the week ending Dec. 4, one in eight new cases the following week and nearly three of four cases for the week ending Dec. 18, according to the CDC data tracker.

Public health officials are concerned that vaccination rates — currently 60 percent of the Illinois population is fully vaccinated, with 22 percent having gotten booster shots — are insufficient to fend off a fifth wave of the coronavirus.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing, with about 120,000 new cases and 1,200 daily deaths nationwide, with current fatalities attributed to infections with the delta variant.

The CDC says Pfizer and Moderna booster shots both provide increased protection against COVID-19 and helped prevent severe symptoms in breakthrough cases.

Locations offering booster shots in the Highland Park area include:

• CVS Pharmacy, 1539 Clavey Road, Highland Park
• CVS Pharmacy, 2000 Skokie Valley Road, Highland Park
• CVS Pharmacy, 2099 Skokie Valley Road, Highland Park
• Jewel-Osco, 1600 Deerfield Road, Highland Park
• Walgreens, 632 Roger Williams Ave., Highland Park
• Walgreens, 655 Elm Place, Highland Park
• Walgreens, 320 Waukegan Ave., Highwood
• Walgreens, 353 Park Ave., Glencoe
• Walgreens, 2501 Waukegan Road, Bannockburn
• Walgreens, 296 Deerpath Road, Lake Forest

Related: Illinois Sees Most COVID-19 Hospitalizations Of 2021 As Omicron Surges