Illinois COVID Update: IL reports 3,479 cases, 20 deaths
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Illinois Department of Public Health officials reported 3,479 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 20 related deaths Friday.
There have been 1,457,687 total COVID cases, including 23,594 deaths in the state since the pandemic began.
Cases are still rising, but at a slower pace than previous weeks.
Illinois COVID vaccine map shows how many residents vaccinated by county
The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from Aug. 6-12 is at 5.9%, the highest it's been since Jan. 24 when it was 6%.
Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported testing 73,097 specimens for a total of 27,609,781 since the pandemic began.
As of Thursday night, 1,652 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 345 patients were in the ICU and 162 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
A total of 13,510,873 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of Thursday. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 30,737. On Thursday, 47,565 vaccines were administered.
Family of immunocompromised man who died from COVID after vaccine urge others to get booster shot
Now that the FDA has authorized COVID vaccine booster shots for immunocompromised people, one family is urging them to get those shots as soon as possible.
Alan Sporn of Flossmoor didn't have a chance to get a booster shot, though his family said he'd have been the first in line. He died in March from COVID-19, a month after his second vaccine dose.
The 75-year-old grandfather of four had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a type of blood cancer. Despite being vaccinated, relatives said he had few antibodies.
"I think that a third booster would have definitely pushed up his immune system. His immunity was so low that it just didn't take," said his daughter Bonnie Sporn.
Expected to be first in line are transplant patients and people on chemotherapy or on medications that suppress the immune system.
In early studies, that third dose is proving to be effective.
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For now, the general public will have to wait.
"The problem has been the people who are immunosuppressed, especially transplant patients, people with certain types of cancer, on certain cancer chemo, other immuno-suppressive drugs, aren't able to mount as good a response to the vaccines as people with normal immune systems," said Dr. John Segreti with Rush University Medical Center.
Segreti is a doctor of infectious diseases. He said it's a good time for those waiting to get the vaccine to do so.
"The vaccines are still extremely effective, and ... this is a perfect time to start getting vaccinated," he said.
