Illinois reported the first case of the South African COVID-19 variant Thursday, health officials announced.
Meanwhile, more than 300 new COVID-19 vaccination sites opened across the state in the last day, as hundreds more Walgreens stores across the state and some CVS locations are now administering vaccinations
Here are the latest COVID-19 headlines from around the state:
Illinois Plans to Expand Vaccine Eligibility in Phase 1B, But Will There Be Enough Supply?
Illinois is set to expand the list of people eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in Phase 1B of its rollout, but as the state struggles to vaccinate those already eligible under the current plan, how will it work?
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said supply has been steadily growing, but he also expressed optimism that another vaccine is nearing approval.
"This is something you know on top of the doses that we're receiving that are in the increase each week, we also are seeing on Feb. 26 that Johnson and Johnson's vaccine is going to come before the FDA, and there's a great deal of optimism that they'll get their emergency use authorization, and therefore we'll be able to begin to get those vaccines added on top of Pfizer and Moderna," Pritzker said. "Last thing is the federal government announced over the last 48 hours that new vaccine shipments are going. In addition to the ones coming to the States, they're actually going directly to the FQHCs [Federally Qualified Health Centers], and two pharmacies in Illinois. You heard yesterday that Walgreens will be getting an additional large amount of vaccine and that amount will be increasing, very helpful to all of us."
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For a complete look at where and how you can make an appointment in Illinois or where you can receive 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 attributed to 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 coronavirus cases bring the statewide total to 1,158,431 since the pandemic began. The 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 rolling positivity rate for all COVID tests dropped to 3.1% and the positivity rate for individuals dropped to 3.7%.
There were 1,915 individuals hospitalized due to 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 providers in Illinois and Chicago, with another 445,200 doses allocated to the federal government’s program to aid long-term care facilities in vaccinating staff and patients. That 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 number as "record breaking." The state has administered 1,644,483 total doses of the vaccine, including 231,814 at long-term care facilities.
Pritzker to Tour Cook County Vaccination Site
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to tour a COVID-19 vaccination site in suburban Cook County on Friday.
Pritzker is scheduled to join local officials at 12 p.m. to tour the Federally Qualified Health Center vaccination site at Aunt Martha’s Chicago Heights Community Health Center, located at 1536 Vincennes Avenue in Chicago Heights, according to his public schedule.
The event can be watched 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 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 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 the B.1.351 strain,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “These variants seem to spread more rapidly, which can lead to more cases of COVID-19 and even another surge. Our best path to defeating this virus as quickly as possible remains wearing our masks and getting vaccinated when it’s our turn.”
In the U.S., cases of the B.1.351 were first reported at the end of January, health officials said. Studies suggest the antibodies produced through the current COVID-19 vaccines recognize the variant, as well as offer "some protection."
"IDPH will continue to work with local health departments, academic partners, laboratories, and CDC to monitor for cases. IDPH has increased its surveillance for this and other variants using genomic sequence testing on an increased number of specimens," a release said.
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 attributed to the virus and over 69,000 doses of the vaccine administered the day before.
According to the latest IDPH data, 2,838 confirmed and probable cases have been reported over the last 24 hours. Those new cases bring the statewide total to 1,155,833 since the pandemic began.
Health officials noted that approximately 80 cases previously reported in McLean County have been removed in totals due to 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 last 24 hours, state laboratories have reported 96,525 new specimens for testing. The state’s seven-day rolling positivity rate for all COVID tests stayed at 3.3%, the same from the day before, while the positivity rate on individuals dropped to 3.9%.
There are currently 1,954 individuals hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Illinois, with 448 of those patients in intensive care units and 227 patients currently on ventilators.
According to IDPH data, a total of 1,929,850 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois and Chicago, with another 456,100 doses allocated to the federal government’s program to aid long-term care facilities in vaccinating staff and patients. That brings the total number of doses sent to Illinois to 2,385,950.
Wednesday saw 69,029 doses administered, IDPH said, noting that the state has administered 1,549,108 total doses of the vaccine, including 226,974 at long-term care facilities.
Check How Your County's COVID Vaccination Data Compares to 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 the chart below to see how your county's vaccinations compare to the state.
Illinois Vaccinations
Note: For COVID-19, the herd-immunity threshold is estimated to be between 60 and 90 percent. Our analysis considers herd immunity reached at 75% of the population fully vaccinated based on estimates by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
More Than 300 New COVID Vaccination Locations Open in Illinois
The state of Illinois added more than 300 new COVID-19 vaccination sites in the last day, health officials announced Thursday, with hundreds more Walgreens stores across the state and some CVS locations now administering vaccinations.
An additional 339 Walgreens locations in Illinois opened as vaccination sites since Wednesday, state officials said, as well as four CVS locations.
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 Join Illinois in Expanding Phase 1B Eligibility for COVID Vaccine
Chicago and Cook County will not join Illinois in expanding who is eligible for coronavirus vaccinations under Phase 1B later this month, officials said Thursday.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President announced the decision in a joint statement, saying that the city and county are not receiving enough doses of the vaccine to allow them to expand eligibility along with the rest of the state in a decision Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the day before.
"Our goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible. That said, our greatest challenge in doing so is the very limited supply of vaccine we are receiving. While we are making progress every day with vaccinating people in 1a and 1b, at this time we are not being supplied with enough doses that would allow us to expand eligibility in these phases," the statement reads.
"Doing so in Chicago and Cook County would add well over one million additional people to 1b, and the result would be that those currently eligible, including seniors, frontline essential workers and those in our most heavily COVID-burdened communities, would have an even harder time getting a vaccine," Lightfoot and Preckwinkle continued.
"These phases were established after careful study and consideration, and are based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We recognize the Governor must make tough choices and consider needs across this diverse state, but given the limited supply of vaccine, we must also make the tough choices as the leaders of the most populous city and county in the state. We look forward to expanding eligibility as vaccine supply improves."
