Erie has COVID-19 vaccine appointments available for anyone age 6 months and up! You do not have to be an Erie patient to get the vaccine at Erie.
Make an appointment for yourself and spread the word to your loved ones. The COVID-19 vaccine is the best tool we have to protect you and your loved ones from the worst of COVID.

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Vaccine FAQs
COVID Testing, Isolation, & Quarantine Guidance
Home Care Guidance for Viral Illness
If you have symptoms and aren’t feeling well, protect yourself and others with the following:
- Continue to wear a mask around others and stay distanced from others – even at home
- Avoid social gatherings
- Remember to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
- Wash your hands frequently
- Clean surfaces and personal items regularly
To help with symptoms, you can try:
- Drink warm fluids with honey (if over 1 year old) or warm apple juice (6 months or older). Avoid juices if diarrhea is present.
- Drink warm broths
- Use an air humidifier
- Gargle with warm salt water 3-4 times per day
- Use saline nasal spray for congestion, irritated nostrils, or sore throat
- Take Tylenol or ibuprofen for fever or pain
- Eat Pedialyte popsicles
- For mild shortness of breath, lay on your belly if able
As a reminder, Erie is only able to provide medical advice for registered patients. Call your medical provider if:
- You are experiencing symptoms and are moderately or severely immunocompromised OR 65 and older and not vaccinated
- If you receive a positive test and are pregnant, or under 1 year old
- You don't urinate in more than 8 hours
- Your symptoms are getting worse 5 or more days into your illness
- You have a fever over 101º F (38.3º C) that lasts for 96 hours or more, OR if your fever is over 104º F (40º C) and not responding to medication
- You are unsure if you might be experiencing an emergency
Look for emergency warning signs* for COVID-19.
If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- New confusion
- Inability to wake or stay awake
- Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone
*This list is not all possible symptoms. Please call your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you. As a reminder, Erie is only able to provide medical advice for registered patients.
When should I test for COVID-19?
- When you have symptoms. Isolate and test as soon as symptoms appear.
- When you have been exposed to someone with symptoms or who tested positive for COVID-19. Plan to take precautions for 10 days. You should get tested 5 or 6 days after you were exposed, and then again 2 or 3 days later.
- Just to know your status before or after a high-risk event, like going to an event with a lot of people, or traveling, or before a medical procedure.
Erie PCR Testing
Erie Family Health Centers is able to provide COVID-19 PCR testing for current Erie patients, with or without symptoms.
- Testing is available same day or next day. You will receive your results within 2 to 4 business days.
- Call Erie at 312-666-3494 to schedule a COVID-19 test. We are currently experiencing a high call volume and increased hold times, particularly on Monday mornings and during lunchtime.
- Please make sure that Erie has your current email address and phone number when you make your appointment. The best way to receive test results from Erie is through email!
- In 4 business days, please check both your email inbox and junk folder for an email from news@eriefamilyhealth.org. Do not send email to this email address.
- If you are pregnant or your child is under 1 year old and your COVID result is positive, you will receive a call from Erie. All other positive results will be sent via email within 2 to 4 business days.
- If your COVID-19 test is negative, you will receive an email or text message within 2 to 4 business days.
- If you need a return to work, school, or daycare letter and did not receive one at the time of your appointment, please call us at 312-666-3494.
As you wait for your test results, it is important that you make sure you don’t get other people sick. Please read more here about what to do while you wait for results.
You most likely will not have to pay for your COVID-19 test.
- If you do not have insurance, there should be no cost for a COVID-19 test.
- The cost for a COVID-19 test is covered under most health insurance plans, including Medicaid. If you have commercial insurance, please check to see if your plan covers COVID-19 testing.
If you test positive for COVID, have symptoms, and are 65+ and unvaccinated, please call Erie.
I have symptoms of COVID-19 infection
Some symptoms of COVID-19 infection are:
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of breath/Difficulty breathing
- Sore throat
- Loss of taste or smell
- Chills
- Body aches
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Nasal congestion/runny nose
If you have symptoms, plan to isolate while you wait for your test results.
If you were exposed to COVID-19, review the quarantine guidance under the section I was exposed.
If you currently have or have had any of these symptoms in the last two weeks, a negative test result does not mean that you do not have COVID-19. It is possible that it was a false negative.
- Please review the quarantine guidance under the section I tested negative but I have symptoms.
If your symptoms are getting worse, especially if you have difficulty breathing, please call your medical provider. If you are an Erie patient please call us at 312-666-3494 to let us know.
I was exposed to COVID-19
Quarantine & Test Guidance
If you were exposed to COVID, quarantine. Plan to take precautions for 10 days. The best time to test depends on whether or not you have symptoms. If you do not have symptoms:
If you develop symptoms at any point take a test and stay home. If you test positive, isolate and review our guidance on testing positive.
Note: These are the CDC’s recommendations. However, your job or school might have different rules for how long you need to quarantine if you were exposed to COVID-19, so you should check with them.
I tested negative, but I have symptoms of COVID-19
Quarantine Guidance
If you have symptoms of COVID-19, but tested negative, Erie recommends that you STAY HOME from work, school or daycare (quarantine) until ALL of these things are true:
- You have gone 24 hours without a fever without the use of medicines to reduce fever like Tylenol or Ibuprofen
- You feel an improvement in symptoms (note: symptoms do not need to be completely gone)
- You meet the criteria for return to work or school per your school/daycare/employer policies
Once all of these things are true, AND if you have not been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, you should be able to return to work, school, or daycare.
Notes:
If you have symptoms and a negative test result, it can be a good idea to re-test 1-2 days after your first test.
If you have no symptoms when you took the test, and later get symptoms, you should test again when your symptoms appear.
Your job or school might have different rules for how long you need to stay home if you have symptoms, so you should check with them.
Children under 2 years of age or any individuals who are unable to consistently wear a high quality/well-fitted mask must quarantine for a full 10 days and cannot leave isolation earlier than 10 days.
I tested positive for COVID-19
Isolation Guidance
If you test positive for COVID-19, isolate.
Everyone, regardless of symptoms or vaccination status should
- Stay home for 5 full days
- If possible, avoid contact with others in your household during this time. If not possible, everyone in your household should wear a mask.
IF, after DAY 5,
- You have no symptoms OR
- Your symptoms are getting better, AND 24 hours have passed without a fever (without the use of medicines to reduce fever like Tylenol or Ibuprofen),
THEN, you can leave your home with a mask on the following day. Continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others for 5 additional days.
IF, after DAY 5, your symptoms do not improve, stay home until symptoms are improved.
Example of how to count days if you have symptoms:
The first day of your symptoms is DAY 0. Start counting the days 1 FULL day AFTER your symptoms first start.
- John has symptoms of COVID-19.
- His symptoms started on January 1.
- January 1 is symptom DAY 0.
- January 2 is symptom DAY 1.
- By January 6 (DAY 5 of symptoms), John's symptoms have improved, so he can return to work 24 hours later on January 7 (DAY 6). If you had a fever, wait 24 hours after your fever ends before you leave home.
NOTE: If you have no symptoms when you took the test, and later develop symptoms, you should isolate for 5 days after symptoms start.
Note: These are the CDC’s recommendations. However, your job or school might have different rules for how long you need to stay home if you test positive, so you should check with them.
I was not exposed to COVID-19
If you were not near someone with COVID-19 and never felt sick, your negative test result means you did not have COVID-19 on the date of your test.
I got tested before a procedure
If you feel well but were tested ahead of your delivery or dental appointment, no further follow-up is needed. Your negative test will be in your medical record for your future healthcare needs.
COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs
Erie now has COVID-19 vaccine appointments available for anyone ages 6 months and up.
Anyone under age 18 needs consent from a parent or legal guardian to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, unless they are pregnant, parenting or emancipated.
Request a new record through our website at your earliest convenience.
We understand that some people may be concerned about getting vaccinated. This is the first time we’ve been faced with a situation like this in our lifetimes. And there have been times throughout history where our government and healthcare system has abused communities of color. All of this can lead to mistrust and concern.
We believe that COVID-19 vaccination is the best tool to help stop the pandemic, keep people from getting severely sick and dying, and to protect those around you who are vulnerable.
The COVID-19 vaccine development process included all the usual safety steps – none were skipped. The process was quicker than we’re used to for a few main reasons:
- Scientists and public health experts around the entire world focused their efforts on the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time. This has not happened in our lifetimes!
- Companies produced millions of vaccine doses at the same time as the clinical trials were happening – this way, we would not need to wait to actually make the vaccines at the end of the safety tests.
- Scientists didn’t have to start from scratch. They used what they learned from previous coronavirus outbreaks like SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2012 to help figure out the science behind how the COVID vaccine works.
All vaccines available now are very effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations and death from COVID-19.
The vaccines are effective for all genders, races and ethnicities.
Hundreds of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given out across the United States with no more than a handful of reports of serious side effects.
The most common side effects reported are:
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle or joint pain
- Fever
- Pain or swelling at the site of the injection (upper arm)
Any side effects typically go away after a day or two.
COVID-19 can be serious, and even deadly, and there is no way to know how the virus will affect you. And even if you catch the virus and don’t get very sick, you could still spread the disease to friends, family, and others around you. COVID-19 has proven to have much more serious symptoms than the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is by far the safer bet.
The only people who cannot receive the COVID-19 vaccine are people with a history of severe allergies to its ingredients. Anyone with a history of severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) can still receive the vaccine but will be monitored for 15 minutes longer after vaccination to ensure they are safe. People with mild to moderate allergies to food, the environment or medications are still highly encouraged to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. If you have further questions, talk to your healthcare provider.
Yes! The CDC recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for people who are pregnant and breastfeeding.
There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems. If you are trying to become pregnant, you do not need to avoid pregnancy after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
Yes, you should. After you have recovered from COVID-19, scientists do not yet know how long you are immune from catching COVID-19 again. The vaccine will be your best protection.
No. Erie provides all of our care, including the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available, regardless of a person’s immigration status.
Resources and Planning
Erie and our community partners provide a wide variety of resources that can provide help with food, rent and utilities, as well as applying for unemployment during this challenging time.
You can call or visit the websites of the following organizations for even more information on COVID-19:
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Chicago residents: Call the Chicago Department of Public Health hotline at 312.746.4835
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Illinois residents who live outside of Chicago: Call the Illinois Department of Public Health hotline at 800.889.3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov
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For general information, visit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website.
- Take care of your body– Try to eat healthy well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep. Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Learn more about wellness strategies for mental health.
- Connect with others– Share your concerns and how you are feeling with a friend or family member. Maintain healthy relationships, and build a strong support system.
- Take breaks– Make time to unwind and remind yourself that strong feelings will fade. Try taking in deep breaths. Try to do activities you usually enjoy.
- Avoid too much exposure to news– Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories. It can be upsetting to hear about the crisis and see images repeatedly. Try to do enjoyable activities and return to normal life as much as possible and check for updates between breaks.
- Seek help when needed– If distress impacts activities of your daily life for several days or weeks, talk to a clergy member, counselor, or doctor, or contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-985-5990