coronavirus illinois

Here's a List of Which 50 Illinois Counties Will First Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine

Officials are expecting an opening shipment of 109,000 vaccine doses as early as mid-month

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The initial delivery of vaccines to prevent COVID-19 in Illinois will be distributed among the 50 counties with the highest death rates per capita, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday as the coronavirus claimed an additional 148 lives in the state.

Officials are expecting an opening shipment of 109,000 vaccine doses as early as mid-month. While hundreds of thousands more are expected in subsequent weeks, Pritzker said, he would not predict how long it would take to vaccinate those first in line.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state public health director, reported 10,526 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The 148 deaths was the eighth-highest single-day total during the pandemic. Fatalities have topped 100 on eight of the last 11 days.

Illinois is following federal guidelines for distributing the vaccine, with health professionals and nursing home residents part of what’s called Phase 1a. Nationally, there are 24 million front-line health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities, Pritzker said. State officials did not respond to a question regarding the number of Illinois residents who qualify for Phase 1a.

“The very first vaccinations will be dedicated to hospitals and health care workers in the 50 counties with the highest death rates per capita,” Pritzker said at his daily COVID-19 briefing in Chicago. “Some quick math will tell you that it’s going to take multiple weeks of distribution to even get our health care workers their first of the two doses that they require, while also getting to the long-term care facility residents.”

Here are the counties that will receive the first doses of the vaccine:

  1. Greene
  2. Wayne
  3. Carroll
  4. Ford
  5. Mason
  6. Union
  7. Pike
  8. Clay
  9. Jefferson
  10. Clinton
  11. Whiteside
  12. Fayette
  13. Marion
  14. Monroe
  15. Cass
  16. Bureau
  17. Clark
  18. Macon
  19. Warren
  20. La Salle
  21. Williamson
  22. Richland
  23. Coles
  24. Perry
  25. Morgan
  26. Knox
  27. McDonough
  28. Shelby
  29. Suburban Cook
  30. Jasper
  31. Jersey
  32. Saline
  33. Christian
  34. Iroquois
  35. Saint Clair
  36. Dewitt
  37. Kankakee
  38. Rock Island
  39. Madison
  40. Lake
  41. Winnebago
  42. Kane
  43. Randolph
  44. DuPage
  45. Will
  46. Ogle
  47. Jo Daviess
  48. Tazewell
  49. Cumberland
  50. Stark
NBC Chicago/Associated Press
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