Illinois reported Thursday the first case of the South African variant of COVID-19, health officials announced.
Meanwhile, more than 300 new COVID-19 vaccination sites opened statewide in the last day as hundreds more Walgreens stores across the state and some CVS locations administer vaccines.
These are the latest COVID-19 holders across the state:
Illinois plans to expand vaccine eligibility in Phase 1B, but will there be enough supply?
Illinois plans to expand the list of people eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in phase 1B of its deployment, but as the state struggles to vaccinate people who are already eligible under the current plan, how will it work?
Governor JB Pritzker said the supply has been steadily growing, but also expressed optimism that another vaccine is about to be approved.
“This is something you know, in addition to the doses we receive, which increase every week; we’ll also see on February 26 that Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine will reach the FDA and there’s a lot of optimism for them to get their emergency use authorization and therefore we will be able to start adding these vaccines on top of Pfizer and Moderna, ”Pritzker said. “The latest is that the federal government announced in the last 48 hours that new shipments of vaccines were sent. In addition to those arriving in the United States, they will actually go directly to the FQHC [Federally Qualified Health Centers], and two pharmacies in Illinois. Yesterday you heard that Walgreens will receive a large additional amount of vaccine and that amount will increase, very useful for all of us. “
Read more here.
For a full view of where and how you can make an appointment in Illinois or where you can get information about vaccines in your area, click here.
Illinois reports 2,598 new cases of coronavirus, 32 deaths, vaccines of 95,000 records
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,598 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, with an additional 32 deaths attributed to the virus and a “record 95,000 doses of vaccine administered” the day before.
According to the latest IDPH data, new and likely coronavirus cases bring the statewide total to 1,158,431 since the pandemic began. Additional deaths bring the state to 19,873 during the pandemic.
In the last 24 hours, state laboratories have reported 103,009 new specimens for testing. The state’s seven-day rotating positivity rate for all COVID tests dropped to 3.1% and the positivity rate for individuals fell to 3.7%.
On Thursday night there were 1,915 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Illinois, with 437 patients in intensive care units and 211 patients with ventilators.
According to IDPH data, a total of 1,940,425 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to suppliers in Illinois and Chicago, with another 445,200 doses allocated to the federal government program to help care facilities long-term in vaccination of staff and patients. This brings the total number of doses sent to Illinois to 2,385,625.
On Thursday, 95,375 doses were administered, according to IDPH, which noted the “record” number. The state has administered 1,644,483 total doses of the vaccine, including 231,814 to long-term care centers.
Pritzker will visit the Cook County vaccination site
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to visit a COVID-19 vaccination site in suburban Cook County on Friday.
Pritzker plans to join local officials at 12 p.m. to tour the vaccination site of the Federally Qualified Health Center at Aunt Martha’s Chicago Heights Community Health Center, located at 1536 Vincennes Avenue in Chicago Heights , according to its public schedule.
The event can be watched live on the video player above.
Illinois reports the first case of the South African variant COVID-19
Illinois reported Thursday the first case of the South African variant of COVID-19, health officials announced.
The Illinois Department of Public Health said the first case of coronavirus variant B.1.351, first identified in South Africa, has been found in the state. The confirmed variant was located in a Rock Island resident, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
“We expected to see more cases of variants detected in Illinois, including strain B.1.351,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the IDPH. “These variants seem to spread faster, which can lead to more cases of COVID-19 and even another increase. Our best way to defeat this virus as soon as possible is to wear masks and get vaccinated.” us when it touches us ”.
In the United States, cases of B.1.351 were first reported in late January, health officials said. Studies suggest that antibodies produced through current COVID-19 vaccines recognize the variant and offer “some protection.”
“IDPH will continue to work with local health departments, academic partners, laboratories and the CDC to monitor cases. IDPH has increased its surveillance for this and other variants through genomic sequence testing in more specimens,” he said. a statement.
Read more here.
Coronavirus in Illinois: 2,838 new cases, 102 deaths, 69,000 vaccines reported Thursday
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported more than 2,800 new coronavirus cases Thursday, with an additional 102 deaths attributed to the virus and more than 69,000 doses of the vaccine administered the day before.
According to the latest data from the IDPH, 2,838 confirmed and probable cases have been reported in the last 24 hours. These new cases bring the state total to 1,155,833 since the pandemic began.
Health officials noted that approximately 80 cases previously reported in McLean County have been eliminated in total due to false positives. IDPH said officials are currently reviewing the situation.
The additional 102 deaths bring the state to 19,841 deaths during the pandemic.
In the last 24 hours, state labs have reported 96,525 new specimens for testing. The state’s seven-day rotating positivity rate for all COVID tests remained at 3.3%, the same as the previous day, while the people’s positivity rate fell to 3.9 %.
There are currently 1,954 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Illinois, with 448 of these patients in intensive care units and 227 patients currently with ventilators.
According to IDPH data, a total of 1,929,850 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to suppliers in Illinois and Chicago, with another 456,100 doses allocated to the federal government program to help care facilities long-term in vaccination of staff and patients. This brings the total number of doses sent to Illinois to 2,385,950.
On Wednesday, 69,029 doses were administered, IDPH said, noting that the state has administered 1,549,108 total doses of the vaccine, including 226,974 in long-term care centers.
Check the comparison of COVID vaccination data for your county with the state
As Illinois nears the end of the second week of COVID-19 vaccinations in Phase 1B, health officials have administered more than 1.5 million doses. Check out the chart below to see your county’s vaccine comparison with the state.
Vaccines against Illinois
More than 300 new COVID vaccination locations open in Illinois
The state of Illinois added more than 300 new vaccination sites to COVID-19 on the last day, health officials announced Thursday, with hundreds more Walgreens stores across the state and some CVS locations administering vaccines .
An additional 339 Walgreens locations in Illinois were opened as vaccination sites as of Wednesday, state officials said, as well as four CVS locations.
This brings the total number of vaccination sites in the state to 860.
Here you can find a complete list of vaccination sites in Illinois.
Chicago and Cook County Will Not Join Illinois to Extend Phase 1B of COVID Vaccine Eligibility
Chicago and Cook County will not join Illinois to expand who is eligible for phase 1B coronavirus vaccines later this month, officials said Thursday.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the president of the Cook County Board announced the decision in a joint statement, saying the city and county are not receiving enough doses of the vaccine to allow them to expand eligibility along with the rest of Cook County. the state in a government decision JB Pritzker. announced the day before.
“Our goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly and efficiently as possible. That said, our biggest challenge in doing so is the very limited supply of vaccines we receive. Although we progress every day with vaccination of people in 1a and 1b, at the moment we are not supplied with enough doses that allow us to expand eligibility in these phases, ”the statement says.
“Doing so in Chicago and Cook County would add more than a million additional people to 1b, and the result would be that those currently eligible, including seniors, front-line essential workers, and those in our COVID-laden communities would find it harder to get a vaccine, ”Lightfoot and Preckwinkle continued.
“These phases were established after careful study and consideration and are based on the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We recognize that the governor must make difficult decisions and take into account the needs in this diverse state, but, given the limited supply of vaccines, it also has to make difficult decisions as leaders in the most populous city and county in the state. We hope to expand eligibility as vaccine supply improves. “
Read more here.