Illinois reported the first case of the South African COVID-19 variant on Thursday, health officials announced.
Meanwhile, more than 300 new COVID-19 vaccination sites have opened in the state in the last day as hundreds of Walgreens stores in the state and some CVS sites now administer vaccinations
Here are the latest COVID-19 headlines from around the state:
Illinois plans to increase vaccine eligibility in Phase 1B, but will there be enough supply?
Illinois plans to expand the list of people eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in Phase 1B of the rollout, but if the state struggles to vaccinate those already eligible under the current plan, how will it then work?
Gov. JB Pritzker said supply is growing steadily, but he also expressed optimism that another vaccine is nearing approval.
“This is something you know on top of the doses we get increasing every week, we also see Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine coming to the FDA on Feb. 26, and there is a lot of optimism that they will get their emergency use approval , and so we can start adding those vaccines on top of Pfizer and Moderna, ”said Pritzker. The latest is that the federal government has announced over the past 48 hours that new vaccine shipments will be taking place. In addition to the ones coming to the United States, they’re actually going straight to the FQHCs. [Federally Qualified Health Centers], and two pharmacies in Illinois. You heard yesterday that Walgreens will be getting an extra large amount of vaccine and that number will increase, which is very helpful for all of us. “
Read more here.
For a full rundown of where and how to book an appointment in Illinois or where to get vaccine information for your area, click here.
Illinois reports 2,598 new coronavirus cases, 32 deaths, record 95K vaccinations
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,598 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, with 32 additional deaths from the virus and a “record-breaking 95,000 doses of vaccine administered the previous day.”
According to the latest IDPH data, the new and probable cases of coronavirus bring the total to 1,158,431 statewide since the start of the pandemic. The additional deaths bring the state to 19,873 during the pandemic.
In the past 24 hours, state laboratories have reported 103,009 new samples for testing. The seven-day progressive state positivity rate for all COVID tests fell to 3.1% and the positivity rate for individuals fell to 3.7%.
There were 1,915 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Illinois as of Thursday night, with 437 of those patients in intensive care units and 211 patients on 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 an additional 445,200 doses assigned to the federal government’s program to support long-term care facilities to vaccinate staff and patients. That brings the total number of doses shipped to Illinois to 2,385,625.
On Thursday, 95,375 doses were administered, according to IDPH, which noted the number as “record-breaking.” The state administered a total of 1,644,483 doses of the vaccine, including 231,814 in long-term care facilities.
Pritzker to Cook County vaccination site
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is expected to visit a COVID-19 vaccination site in suburban Cook County on Friday.
According to his public schedule, Pritzker will join local officials at noon at the Federally Qualified Health Center vaccination site at Aunt Martha’s Chicago Heights Community Health Center, located at 1536 Vincennes Avenue in Chicago Heights.
The event can be viewed live in the video player above.
Illinois reports first case of South African COVID-19 variant
Illinois reported the first case of the South African COVID-19 variant on Thursday, health officials announced.
The Illinois Department of Public Health said the first case of the coronavirus variant B.1.351, first identified in South Africa, has been found in the state. The confirmed variant was in a Rock Island resident, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
“We expected more cases of variants discovered in Illinois, including the B.1.351 strain,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “These variants seem to be spreading faster, which could lead to more cases of COVID-19 and even a new rise. Our best way to beat this virus as soon as possible is to wear our masks and get vaccinated when it’s our turn. “
In the US, cases of the B.1.351 were first reported in late January, health officials said. Studies suggest that the antibodies produced by the current COVID-19 vaccines recognize the variant and provide “some protection.”
“IDPH will continue to work with local health departments, academic partners, laboratories and CDC to monitor cases. IDPH has increased its surveillance of these and other variants through genomic sequencing testing on a greater number of specimens,” said a release.
Read more here.
Coronavirus in Illinois: 2,838 new cases, 102 deaths, 69K vaccinations reported Thursday
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported more than 2,800 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, with 102 additional deaths from the virus and more than 69,000 doses of the vaccine given the day before.
According to the latest IDPH data, 2,838 confirmed and probable cases have been reported in the last 24 hours. Those new cases bring the statewide total to 1,155,833 since the pandemic began.
Health officials noted that about 80 cases previously reported in McLean County have been removed in total for false positives. IDPH said officials are currently reviewing the situation.
The 102 additional deaths bring the state to 19,841 deaths during the pandemic.
In the past 24 hours, state laboratories have reported 96,525 new samples for testing. The seven-day progressive state positivity rate for all COVID tests remained at 3.3%, the same as the day before, while the positivity rate in individuals fell to 3.9%.
There are currently 1,954 people hospitalized because of COVID-19 in Illinois, with 448 of those patients in intensive care units and 227 patients currently using ventilation equipment.
According to IDPH data, a total of 1,929,850 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to healthcare providers in Illinois and Chicago, with an additional 456,100 doses assigned to the federal government’s program to support long-term care facilities in vaccinating staff and patients. That brings the total number of doses shipped to Illinois to 2,385,950.
On Wednesday, 69,029 doses were administered, IDPH said, noting that the state administered 1,549,108 total doses of the vaccine, including 226,974 in long-term care settings.
Check how your country’s COVID vaccination data compares to the state
As Illinois nears the end of the second week of Phase 1B COVID-19 vaccinations, health officials have administered more than 1.5 million doses. Check out the table below to see how your country’s vaccinations compare to the state.
Vaccinations in Illinois
More than 300 new COVID vaccination sites opened in Illinois
The state of Illinois added more than 300 new COVID-19 vaccination sites in the past day, health officials announced Thursday, with hundreds of Walgreens stores across the state and some CFS locations now administering vaccinations.
Another 339 Walgreens sites in Illinois have opened as vaccination sites since Wednesday, state officials said, as well as four CFS sites.
That brings the total number of vaccination sites in the state to 860.
You can find a full list of vaccination sites in Illinois here.
Chicago and Cook County will not be joining Illinois to qualify for Phase 1B for the COVID vaccine
Chicago and Cook County will not join Illinois to expand who qualifies for coronavirus vaccinations under Phase 1B later this month, officials said Thursday.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the chairman of the Cook County Board released the decision in a joint statement, saying the city and county are not receiving enough doses of the vaccine to allow them to qualify along with the rest of the state. come in a decision Gov. JB Pritzker announced the day before.
“Our goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible. That said, our biggest challenge is the very limited supply of vaccines that we are getting. As we progress every day in vaccinating people in 1a and 1a. 1b, we are currently not getting enough doses that would allow us to expand appropriateness in these stages, ”the statement read.
“If you did that in Chicago and Cook County, that would add over a million extra people to 1 billion, and the result would be that those who are currently eligible, including seniors, key frontline workers and those in our toughest through COVID burdened communities, an equal It’s harder to get a vaccine, ”Lightfoot and Preckwinkle continued.
“These stages came about after careful research and consideration, and are based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We recognize that the governor must make difficult choices and consider the needs in this diverse state, but given that the limited supply of vaccines also have to make the tough choices as the leaders of the most populous city and county in the state. We look forward to expanding eligibility as the vaccine supply improves. ”
Read more here.