Illinois COVID Update: IL reports 1,585 new coronavirus cases, 35 deaths, 7-day positivity rate sits at 3.1%

Sunday, February 21, 2021
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported 1,585 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Sunday, with 35 deaths.

IDPH is reporting a total of 1,174,409 COVID-19 cases, including 20,269 deaths.

As of Saturday night, 1,468 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 356 patients were in the ICU and 170 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

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The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from Feb. 14-20 is 3.1%.

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Weather continues to cause vaccine delivery delays from the federal government. The state said it is in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies to understand the logistical challenges and if there is anything Illinois can do to expedite getting vaccine.

Moderna vaccine shipments to Chicago have not been delivered this week because of the winter storms in the region, causing appointments at clinics across the city to cancel or postpone vaccination shots, said Chicago's top doctor on Thursday.

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The White House COVID team said Friday that workers, whether packaging or shipping vaccines, were snowed in an unable to get to work. Road closures were a problem, as were power outages. Friday night, there are signs of improvement.

And amid the delays, Cook County Health gave their 100,000th vaccination to a 17-year-old grocery store worker.

A total of 2,256,975 doses of vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago, with an additional 445,200 doses allocated to federal government partners for long-term care facilities, bringing the total number delivered in Illinois to 2,702,175.

The IDPH said that vaccine distribution numbers are reported in real-time and vaccine administration numbers lag by as much as 72 hours.

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IDPH reports that a total of 2,151,952 vaccine doses have been administered, including 282,820 at long-term facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered is 52,658. On Saturday, 13,433 doses were administered.

Statewide, the Illinois Department of Public Health expected 365,000 doses from the federal government this week. So far, the state health department has confirmed they've received about 55,000 this week, significantly less.

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"Now the federal government obviously with the latest couple of days of terrible weather across the nation, they've had a difficult time actually distributing the vaccine to the states," Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged Thursday.

Illinois is not alone. Across the country, 22 states have delayed or cancelled vaccinations this week because of the weather.

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Illinois' top doctor says everyone in the state deserves a chance to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but it'll take months for supply to meet demand.

Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike's comments in a weekend Chicago Tribune opinion piece amid complaints of shortages and difficulties in obtaining appointments.

The recent blast of winter weather also delayed shipments and canceled appointments. So far, health care workers, residents ages 65 and older and essential workers are eligible.

Illinois officials hope to expand this month to people with underlying health conditions, but Chicago and other areas are delaying, citing a shortage.

The deaths reported Saturday include:

Cook County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 3 males 80s, 1 female 90s, 2 males 90s
Douglas County: 1 male 50s
DuPage County: 2 males 80s, 2 females 90s
Henry County: 1 male 60s
Jefferson County: 1 female 80s
Kendall County: 1 female 80s

LaSalle County: 1 female 90s
Macon County: 3 females 70s
Ogle County: 1 male 80s
Peoria County: 1 male 60s
Randolph County: 1 male 90s
Saline County: 1 female 90s
Shelby County: 1 male 60s
St. Clair County: 1 female 90s
Union County: 1 female 90s
Wayne County: 1 male 70s
Whiteside County: 1 male 50s
Will County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s
Winnebago County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 90s

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.
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