Illinois COVID-19 Update: IL reports 4,822 new cases, 107 deaths

Some frustrated about lack of vaccine registration information ahead of Phase 1B

ByEric Horng and ABC 7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Vaccine registration frustrations rise as Illinois prepares for Phase 1B
Five days before Illinois is scheduled to move to vaccination phase 1B, some are frustrated with the lack of information about how to register.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Illinois health officials reported 4,822 new COVID-19 cases and 107 deaths Wednesday.

The total number of cases in Illinois now stands at 1,081,354, with a total of 18,398 deaths, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

WATCH: Gov. Pritzker gives latest on vaccines, restrictions, new variant on Jan. 15, 2021

Gov. JB Pritzker gave the latest on COVID-19 in Illinois Friday.

Five days before Illinois is scheduled to move to vaccination phase 1B, some are frustrated with the lack of information about how to register.

"I'm trying to do my part, and it just seems like I keep running into a brick wall," said James Henry, of Elmhurst.

Henry said he was excited when Gov. JB Pritzker announced last week that Phase 1B would start in Illinois on January 25 for people 65 and older and many essential workers.

But Henry, 72, said he found nothing about how to register for a vaccine on either the state or DuPage County Health Department websites.

He eventually found a local pharmacy taking 1B appointments and scheduled himself and his wife for next week.

"And then we get a call today, and Mariano's says, 'We're sorry, but the county says they aren't releasing the vaccine for group 1B,'" Henry said.

Earlier this week, the DuPage County Health Department said phase 1B for the county likely wouldn't start until early February. But late Wednesday, it issued a press release saying it "...anticipates beginning the transition to Phase 1b starting Monday, January 25..." But because of limited supply "...it may take approximately 12 weeks..." to vaccinate everyone in 1B.

There's still nothing on the county's website about how to register.

"I mean, at this point, just say, 'We don't know, folks,'" Henry said.

In the Chicago area, DuPage County, suburban Cook and the city of Chicago said they'll begin 1B vaccinations Monday. But in Lake County, officials said it could be one to two weeks. And in Will County, a few weeks.

ABC7 left messages for McHenry, Kane, and Kankakee counties that were not returned.

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Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 86,121 specimens for a total of 14,984,649.

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As of Monday night, 3,284 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 722 patients were in the ICU and 379 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from Jan. 13-19 is 6.8%, which is the lowest it has been since late October.

The test positivity rate is a metric the state began providing in late October. It is calculated by using the total number of positive tests over the total number of tests. This is the metric being used to by state health officials to make decisions about mitigations.

As of Tuesday night, 864,150 doses of vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago, with an additional 524,050 doses allocated to federal government partners for long-term care facilities, bringing the total number delivered in Illinois to 1,388,200.

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IDPH reports that a total of 537,740 vaccine doses, including 86,180 at long-term facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered is 22,134 .

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David Hilgenberg, a 105-year-old World War II veteran who survived COVID-19, got his first dose of the vaccine Monday.

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

The deaths reported Wednesday include:

- Adams County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s

- Champaign County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s

- Christian County: 1 male 60s

- Clinton County: 1 male 70s

- Coles County: 1 female 90s

- Cook County: 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 3 males 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 5 males 70s, 4 females 80s, 5 males 80s, 2 females 90s, 1 male 90s

- DuPage County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 2 males 60s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 100+

- Ford County: 1 female 90s

- Franklin County: 1 male 80s

- Iroquois County: 1 female 90s

- Jackson County: 1 female 90s

- Jersey County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s

- Kane County: 2 females 60s, 2 males 60s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s

- Kankakee County: 1 female 80s

- Kendall County: 1 male 70s

- Knox County: 1 male 80s

- Lake County: 4 females 80s, 1 male 80s, 2 females 90s, 1 male 90s

- Lee County: 1 female 90s

- Logan County: 1 female 80s

- Macon County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s

- Madison County: 1 male 60s, 2 males 70s, 1 female 80s

- Mason County: 1 female 50s

- McHenry County: 1 male 80s

- McLean County: 1 female 80s, 2 males 80s

- Mercer County: 1 male 70s

- Monroe County: 1 male 80s

- Montgomery County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 100+

- Morgan County: 1 female 50s, 1female 90s

- Peoria County: 1 female 30s, 1 female 50s, 2 males 50s, 1 female 60s

- Richland County: 1 female 50s

- Rock Island County: 1 male 60s

- St. Clair County: 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s

- Stephenson County: 1 male 70s, 2 females 90s

- Tazewell County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s

- Vermilion County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s

- Whiteside County: 1 male 70s

- Will County: 2 males 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s

- Winnebago County: 3 females 80s, 1 male 80s

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