Evanston will no longer require fully vaccinated individuals to wear face coverings or practice social distancing in most indoor and outdoor settings, following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health, according to a Wednesday news release.

“Vaccines have been proven to be safe and highly effective at preventing severe illness and complications from COVID-19,” Ike Ogbo, director of health and human services, said in the release. “Relaxing face covering requirements for fully vaccinated individuals brings us one step closer to normal, but it’s important to remember that we are still in a pandemic.”

Individuals who are not fully vaccinated will still have to wear a face covering in public settings when social distancing is not possible. Residents, regardless of their vaccination status, are required to wear masks in health care settings, schools and daycare centers, congregate settings and on public transportation.

Individuals are fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, or after a single dose of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen).

Community members must also wear face coverings at city facilities, community centers and Evanston Public Library locations. The Health and Human Services Department is encouraging businesses to require face coverings unless they can verify visitors are fully vaccinated.  

As of Monday, 89,700 vaccine doses have been administered to Evanston residents, according to the city’s vaccine dashboard. Over 51,200 individuals 12 and older have received one dose of a vaccine, and 40,833 are fully vaccinated.

White residents make up 61 percent of those who have received the vaccine but make up 66 percent of the city’s population. Black residents make up 11 percent of vaccinated individuals and Asian residents make up 8 percent. In comparison, 16.5 percent is Black, and over 9 percent is Asian. 

Less than one percent of residents are Native or other Pacific Islander, and less than one percent of residents are American Indian or Alaska Native, which is reflected in the vaccine dashboard. 

Nearly 12 percent are Hispanic or Latino, a population not included on the vaccine dashboard. 

This week, Evanston and local school districts will offer Pfizer vaccines to individuals 12 and older at multiple vaccination events. The first such event will be on Friday at Blomquist Recreation Center, 617 Foster St., from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Anyone 12 and older who lives, works or attends school in Evanston can get vaccinated at the event. 

On Saturday, Evanston Township High School and Evanston/Skokie School District 65 will hold a vaccination event at the ETHS fieldhouse. The event will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m and will be held in partnership with Walgreens.

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Twitter: @delaneygnelson

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