The expansion comes as the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,022 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 44 deaths Wednesday.
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Several county health departments say it could be weeks before they could extend vaccine eligibility to people under 65 with underlying conditions, despite state guarantees that supply will soon substantially increase.
Gov. JB Pritzker said federal deliveries to Illinois will increase to 100,000 daily doses by mid-March, nearly double what the state currently manages.
“I encourage all of our local health departments, especially those that are not yet in the pace of expansion, to move as quickly as possible to expand our reach in light of the growing federal supply,” said Pritzker.
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But in Lake County, less than a third of people age 65 and older have been vaccinated.
The county is adhering to CDC guidelines that say between 60 and 70 percent of people in a current phase should be vaccinated before expansion, unless supply exceeds demand.
“We’re seeing a lot of demand and I can tell you that every day I get emails from people 65 and older claiming their vaccination,” said Mark Pfister, executive director of the Lake County Health Department.
In fact, on the eve of the expansion of state 1B, not a single county health department has announced when this move will take place.
“I really look to see what the situation is like in the next four or six weeks and then make a decision on how and when to expand to the next group,” said Chris Hoff, DuPage County Health Department.
In Chicago, it could be the end of March.
“I don’t want to create expectations that we just can’t meet especially when we still have to focus on our seniors,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
There may be some providers, including pharmacies, in our area that extend admission, but they must receive the vaccine directly from the state or federal government, rather than these counties.
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IDPH reports a total of 1,179,342 cases of COVID-19, including 20,374 deaths.
As of Tuesday night, 1,511 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of these, 338 patients were in the ICU and 172 patients with COVID-19 with ventilators.
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In the last 24 hours, laboratories have reported that they tested 82,976 specimens for a total of 17,804,537 since the pandemic began.
The statewide seven-day preliminary test positivity test from Feb. 17-23 is 2.8%.
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A total of 2,584,125 vaccine doses have been delivered to Illinois providers, including Chicago, with an additional 445,200 doses assigned to federal government partners for long-term care facilities, making the number total deliveries in Illinois are 3,029,325.
The IDPH said vaccine distribution data are reported in real time and vaccine administrations are delayed by up to 72 hours.
IDPH reports that a total of 2,310,929 vaccine doses have been administered, including 291,273 in long-term facilities. The rotating average of seven days of administered vaccines is 58,141.
The deaths reported on Wednesday include:
-Cook County: 1 woman 60, 3 men 60, 4 women 70, 3 men 70, 2 women 80, 1 man 80, 1 woman 90, 1 man 90
-DuPage County: 1 man 60 years old
-Ford County: 1 man from the 80s
-Henderson County: 1 man from the 60’s, 1 woman from the 70’s, 2 women from the 80’s, 1 man from the 80’s, 1 woman from the 90’s
-Johnson County: 1 man from the 70s
-Kane County: 1 woman aged 60 years
-Kendall County: 1 woman aged 70 years
-Lake County: 1 man of 70 years, 1 man of 80 years
-LaSalle County: 2 women 90
-Macoupin County: 1 man aged 60 years
-McHenry County: 2 men aged 80 years
-Monroe County: 1 woman aged 70 years
-Saline County: 1 woman aged 70 years
-Stephenson County: 1 man from the 80s, 1 woman from the 90s
-Union County: 2 men aged 60 years
-County of Will: 1 woman of 70 years
-Winnebago County: 1 man from the 60s, 1 man from the 80s, 1 woman from the 90s
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