Comment: Reasonable opinions may vary on exactly how vaccinations should be prioritized, but doing it by zip code is flat out stupid, and it’s costing lives. Residents in these zip codes who are young and healthy, or already immune through prior infection, face no meaningful risk, and they are taking the vaccine. Meanwhile, many of the elderly and those with known comorbidities, who face real risk, continue to be denied vaccination by an impossibly frustrating registration system.

Illinois politicians are tempted to view the $13 billion federal aid package as a windfall—but if they don’t use this opportunity to fix the pre-COVID policy problems, the state’s financial situation will keep getting worse.