Gov. Pritzker Weighs In On State Of COVID-19 Vaccinations, Struggles For Appointments

CHICAGO (CBS) -- It has been a year since the state began shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Gov. JB Pritzker began giving daily COVID updates.

CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov sat down with Gov. Pritzker on Monday to talk about the state of the pandemic in Illinois today. Kozlov only had 10 minutes with the governor, so she wanted to be sure to address the vaccine rollout.

A total of 4.1 million COVID vaccination doses have been administered in Illinois to date – an impressive number. But we're still hearing from dozens of people who are eligible for a dose now – but are still desperate to find appointments.

Kozlov: "Do you feel the state cold have or still could do something to make this process easier for those eligible to get that vaccine?"

Pritzker: "There's a nationwide shortage of that vaccine. So when we know we have a lot of demand and limited supply, it is very difficult to match supply and demand."

We have heard Pritzker say that before. But a supply-and-demand issue is not the only vaccine roadblock – eligible people cannot get it, while some not-yet-eligible folks can.

Kozlov: "In retrospect, could the state have done something in advance – created a centralized registry; done something to help streamline this process, instead of having it be, like I said, what some consider to be a free-for-all?"

Pritzker: "Look, I'm sure that if you went back years that you could have changed the way the public health system in the state of Illinois operates, but it's a decentralized public health system."

The United Center vaccination site is one example of a good plan gone awry. Initially, it was opened to anyone in the state, but then later limited to Chicago residents. So what does Pritzker say to those still scrambling to get vaccinated?

Pritzker: "We all need to have some patience."

Kozlov: "You're happy with the way the State of Illinois and all of its vaccine partners, if you will, are handling the vaccine distribution thus far?"

Pritzker: "Again, we have a lot of partners across the state. Some are operating at different levels of capability, and we've had to augment that capability wherever we could, using our National Guard, who have been just amazing. And the result of that is that things better than they would be if we weren't on top of that. But it's not perfect. There's no doubt about it."

Incidentally, Pritzker said he has not yet been vaccinated. He wants to make sure he waits until his eligibility window opens.