President Joe Biden signaled his increasing bullishness on the pace of vaccinations after signing an executive order to boost government purchases from U.S. manufacturers. 

It’s another benchmark in the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine: Chicago has entered phase 1B. But what does that mean? And how can you sign up to get a shot? We’ve got answers to some common questions.

It took less than a year for pharmaceutical companies to successfully develop vaccines for COVID-19. The unprecedented time frame has raised questions for some about the vaccine’s safety. We learn about the science behind the shots.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed to redouble efforts to get the vaccine to those in neighborhoods hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic by earmarking doses for those Black and Latino communities as the state begins the second phase of its vaccination effort.

A year after the first coronavirus case was reported in Illinois, officials launched a new mass coronavirus vaccination site, website and hotline for those who live and work in Cook County. But demand for the vaccine still far outweighs supply.

The state of Illinois is expanding vaccine eligibility beginning Monday, meaning school-based staff and other front-line employees will be able to start getting inoculated

The COVID-19 vaccines rolling out in the United States, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world so far require two shots given a few weeks apart. 

“My word for you is patience,” Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said Thursday. “I know a lot of you will be frustrated.”

The new sites will provide vaccinations to health care workers this week and will begin vaccinating residents ages 65 and older as well as front-line essential workers starting Monday.

The city of Chicago’s tentative vaccine distribution plan estimates that there will not be enough COVID-19 vaccine available for all Chicagoans ages 16 and older until May 31, the city’s top doctor announced Monday.

Illinois will soon begin the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccination effort, extending doses to residents ages 65 and older as well as essential front-line workers. The rollout is again prompting officials to urge residents get the vaccine once it becomes available to them.

The effort to inoculate all 850,000 health care workers and long-term care facility residents in Illinois from COVID-19 will be “substantially complete” next week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday.

New mass vaccination sites will open on Friday at Olive Harvey City College, on Tuesday at Kennedy-King City College and on Wednesday at Truman City College, officials announced.

City health officials will allow Chicagoans 65 and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting next week — if there are doses available after health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities are vaccinated, the city’s top doctor told aldermen Wednesday.

The Trump administration on Tuesday instructed states to begin vaccinating Americans over age 65 for COVID-19, as well as those with chronic medical conditions. We discuss Chicago’s rollout with an infectious disease specialist.

The short answer: Yes. Regardless of previous infection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people should plan on getting vaccinated when it’s their turn.