Suppliers of the COVID-19 vaccine in Illinois are giving more than 102,147 injections per day on average last week, compared to less than 53,000 injections per day less than a month ago.
Illinois Department of Public Health officials also reported on Monday that 62,508 vaccines were administered the day before. Although less than average, many vaccination sites are closed or have reduced hours on Sundays.
To date, vaccine suppliers across the state have administered 4,102,810 vaccines since the first doses arrived in Illinois three months ago. There are now 1,524,765 people in Illinois who have been fully vaccinated through the provision of the state’s vaccine, or about 12% of the population, based on IDPH records. Many others are in the waiting period between the first and second doses of Moderna or Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
State officials also reported 12 more deaths from COVID-19 and 782 new diagnosed cases.
This raises the number of deaths from the virus in the state to 20,955, with 1,210,113 infected since the outbreak began.
Although it is the first time that the number of new cases has been below 1,000 since July, only 39,145 test results have also been returned. This kept the seven-day case-positive rate across the state at 2.2%, more or less where it has been for almost two weeks. At its peak in mid-November, the seven-day average case positivity rate across the state was 13.2%. The percentage indicates how many of the tests performed resulted in the diagnosis of a new case of the disease.
Meanwhile, hospitals across the state are treating 1,112 patients with COVID-19 infections. Of those hospitalized, 227 are in intensive care, according to IDPH data.
Governor JB Pritzker announced plans on Monday for Illinois National Guard mobile vaccination units to be deployed in more rural parts of the state. As more vaccination sites are erected, accessibility to vaccine doses is expected to increase, especially in the suburbs.
This is the case in Kane County, where authorities have announced that a new vaccination site being built in Batavia and opened on Friday will serve those currently eligible under state guidelines until April and then open to everyone else in 1st May. Currently eligible are healthcare and essential workers, people aged 65 and over and people under 65 with medical conditions that increase the risk of serious cases if they receive COVID-19.
“We will be able to open it to our entire population of eligible adults to be able to receive the vaccination,” Kane County Council President Corinne Pierog told ABC 7 Chicago on Monday.