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For the second day in a row Illinois set a record for the number of people getting vaccinated. The ramp-up came as the state reallocates vaccine from areas of lower demand, to regions like the collar counties where demand is high. The governor made it clear the state is not stockpiling reserves.
"There's no rainy day fund for the vaccinations, if we can push it into someone's arm we're going to do that right away. We are using as much vaccine as we possibly can," said Governor JB Pritzker.
IL reports record-high 164K vaccine doses
But the governor conceded that in some areas, organizations working with local health departments could be holding on to doses.
"Sometimes those partners keep a few more vaccines on the shelf than they should. And so we just want everybody to push those out," Pritzker said.
There have been 1,273,200 total cases, including 21,476 deaths in the state.
As of Thursday night, 1,808 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 369 patients were in the ICU and 163 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported testing 101,737 specimens for a total of 21,017,929 since the pandemic began.
Governor JB Pritzker announces 150K additional vaccination appointments for Chicago suburbs next week
The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 2-8, is 4.8%.
Those rising cases, along with expanding eligibility raising concerns with some doctors, about those people who are already struggling to get an appointment.
"It's still challenging because there's not one spot that you go to look for a vaccine right," said Dr. Marina Del Rios, an emergency physician at the University of Illinois Hospital. "Depending on geography, you may have enough to spare or sometimes you're finding yourself having to scramble and traveling long distances just to get vaccinated."
In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said 1.5 million doses of COVID vaccine have now been given out, with efforts specifically focusing on vulnerable communities. Beginning Saturday morning, the former Treasure Island grocery store on Wells near Lincoln Park will serve as a vaccination site, giving out another 1,000 doses.
"This is a race against time," said 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins. "We have to vaccinate as many people as fast as we can before the variants start to spread even more than they already are."
The site will offer full inoculation through the Johnson & Johnson vaccine before shipments of the single-dose shot drop next week.
"Doing it with the Johnson & Johnson tomorrow and taking care of it in one day makes it a lot easier on us," Hopkins said.
As other states like California set dates to fully reopen, Governor Pritzker unwilling to commit.
"And I have never been able to give an answer because this virus is so unpredictable, but we are heading in the right direction," Pritzker said.
In order to move into phase five, 50% of those 16 and older must be vaccinated with at least the first shot, the current number is now over 43%, but it could rise more quickly starting next week as eligibility expands.
And the additional vaccinations could help turn around the current upward trend of cases and hospitalizations, which need to be stable before the state can fully reopen.
A total of 8,841,285 doses of vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago.
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A total of 6,871,645 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of Thursday night. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 118,336 doses. There were 164,462 doses reported administered in Illinois Thursday, a new record.
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Illinois has administered doses to more than 70% of residents 65 and older, reaching the threshold needed to move into the Bridge Phase of reopening. However, IDPH said rising hospitalization rates will prevent Illinois from moving into the Bridge Phase. IDPH epidemiologists will continue to focus on the most recent 10 days to monitor any acute trends that prevent the state from reaching the Bridge Phase.
Illinois COVID Vaccine: Gov. Pritzker announces 150K more vaccination appointments for Chicago suburbs next week
Gov. JB Pritzker announced thousands of new COVID vaccine appointments will be coming to the Chicago area next week with the state set to expand eligibility.
On Monday, April 12, all residents 16 and older will be eligible to get a vaccine in Illinois. Chicago will wait until April 19 to expand eligibility. Chicago residents are eligible to get vaccinated at suburban sites.
The Lake County mass vaccination site in Grayslake is also changing its format starting Monday. The Lake County Illinois Fairground site will become a walk-through vaccination location instead of a drive-thru.
The county's health department said this will allow them to administer 2,500 shots per day instead of 1,500. Masks and social distancing are required inside the building.
The deaths reported Friday include:
- Cook County: 1 male 50s, 3 females 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- Crawford County: 1 male 70s
- Henry County: 1 male 80s
- Jackson County: 1 male 60s
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- Kane County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s
- Lake County: 1 male 70s
- Madison County: 1 male 60s
- Menard County: 1 male 80s
- Rock Island County: 1 male 60s
- Sangamon County: 1 male 80s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 50s
- Tazewell County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 80s
- Whiteside County: 2 males 60s