Cook County residents between the ages of 16 and 65 with certain medical conditions will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination through the county health department with an application for consultation starting at noon on Friday.
New eligible residents must register at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov. The Cook County Department of Public Health will begin making appointments through the website at noon on Friday for vaccinations starting on Monday.
The so-called Phase 1B-plus includes people with cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, diabetes, heart disease, weakened immunity after an organ transplant, obesity, lung disease and sickle cell disease, as well as individuals with disabilities, pregnant women and smokers.
The move affects suburban vaccine providers who receive doses from the agency serving Cook County residents, as well as state-supported Cook County mass vaccination sites in Des Plaines, Tinley Park, River Grove and South Holland.
The state moved to Phase 1B-plus on February 25, but Cook County delayed, saying that many people over the age of 65 were still unable to access vaccines. Other suburban counties did the same.
“In the past few weeks, we have seen great progress in vaccinating vulnerable groups in Phase 1B, including our elderly. This is reflected in the figures, which indicate that more than 68% of individuals aged 65 and over in the suburban district of Cook received at least one dose, “said Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior physician and co-leader of the Cook County Department of Public Health.
Meanwhile, state health officials announced that another 102,390 inoculations of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered across the state on Tuesday. This raises the number of vaccine doses administered across the state to 4,283,487, while 1,605,112 Illinois residents and workers – about 13% of the population – have been fully vaccinated, according to the Department of Public Health’s records. Illinois.
Illinois vaccine providers are now receiving an average of 102,223 inoculations a day last week, records show.
State officials reported that 119,600 additional doses of the vaccine arrived in Illinois on Tuesday. Illinois has already received 5,516,725 doses of the three vaccine brands, 77.6% of which have been placed on guns, the IDPH numbers show.
IDPH officials also reported an additional 17 deaths from COVID-19, as well as 1,655 new cases of the disease.
This raises the number of deaths from the virus in the state to 20,988, with 1,213,765 Illinois residents infected since the pandemic began.
Hospitals across the state are treating 1,143 patients with COVID-19 infections. Of those hospitalized, 259 are in intensive care.
The positivity rate for seven-day cases across the state is 2.2%. The percentage indicates how many tests performed resulted in the diagnosis of a new case of the disease. An average of seven days is used to correct any anomalies in the daily reports of new cases and test results.
IDPH officials also released a new data site that allows Illinois residents to track how much of the state’s vaccine supply is reserved for their county each week.
The website shows how the state is allocating 458,100 new doses this week.
Governor JB Pritzker is expected to announce plans later this week that would allow for a greater reopening of businesses and activities across the state as vaccines become more abundant.
“How can we be sure that, while we are opening, we do not see an increase in cases, as we are vaccinating people?” Pritzker asked rhetorically. “What we want to do is put vaccines in people’s arms immediately. My focus is to make this vaccine as accessible as possible for all of our residents as soon as the shipments enter Illinois.”
Local health departments have reserved 200,030 injections for the first doses. Another 157,230 are being sent to counties for second doses. First dose allocations to local health departments are based on the percentage of the state’s population served by these agencies, according to the IDPH website.
The Cook County Department of Public Health, which serves the suburban part of the county, is expected to receive 45,200 first doses and 18,840 second doses, according to the website.
• DuPage County is expected to receive 18,400 first doses and 700 second doses.
• Kane County is reserved for 10,600 first doses and 2,100 second doses.
• Lake County should receive 13,900 first doses and 1,000 second doses.
• McHenry County’s allocation is set at 6,100 first doses and 500 second doses.
• Will County is in line for 13,800 first doses and 5,540 second doses.
According to the website, the state will allocate the remainder of the week’s new doses like this: 5,850 to long-term institutions; 5,700 for federally qualified health centers, safety net hospitals and critical access hospitals; 63,400 for National Guard locations; 16,160 for retail pharmacies; 6,140 for minority health and mobile teams; 100 for the Illinois Department of Corrections; and 3,500 for dialysis centers.