Chambana Sun

Health officials in the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District administered about 1,500 vaccines to ineligible employees of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Though it is encouraged by health officials for everyone to get the vaccine, the chain of distribution gives priority to those who tend to be more vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus 

The incident appears to have been a mistake, with health officials claiming that they misunderstood the guidelines for administering the vaccine and which people should get the vaccine first. The bulk of these out-of-turn vaccinations were given in early February, long before many seniors were able to secure appointments to get the vaccine. 

Sen. Chapin Rose said in a Facebook post, "I raised this over a month ago: pointing out that ineligible, otherwise healthy young people were getting vaccinated when seniors and the disabled couldn't find a shot anywhere."

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Deputy Administrator and Epidemiologist Awais Vaid said that the oversight was due to "ambiguity" in the state vaccination guidelines that led officials to believe that higher education employees were eligible for the vaccine. He said that the error was caught quickly and the office has since made sure that they understand the guidelines. 

Those that were given the first dose of the vaccine in error were allowed to get the second dose as well, thus completing their vaccination.