I hope so too, I think less than 3 weeks notice would be pretty short, especially given they ask for 10 days for the medical!
Yeah I was told the same when I booked too lol, but the Embassy website, the medical email, and a few posters in the past say you do need your IL first. Guess we'll find out, but we might be ok with medicals after the 31st Jan (if that is our IL date)!