First case of South African variant, 300 new vaccination sites – NBC Chicago

Illinois reported the first case of the South African COVID-19 variant on Thursday, health officials announced.

Meanwhile, more than 300 new COVID-19 vaccination sites have opened across the state in the past day, as hundreds more Walgreens stores across the state and some CVS sites are now vaccinating.

Here are the latest COVID-19 headlines from across the state:

Illinois plans to be eligible for Phase 1B vaccine, but will there be sufficient supply?

Illinois is going to expand the list of people eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in Phase 1B of its enactment, but how will it work since the state is struggling to vaccinate those eligible under the current plan?

Government JB Pritzker said supply had gradually increased, but he also expressed optimism that another vaccine was approaching approval.

‘This is something you know in addition to the doses that are increased each week. We also see on February 26 that the vaccine of Johnson and Johnson is going to come before the FDA, and there is a lot of optimism that they will get their emergency permits, and therefore we will be able to add the vaccines on top of Pfizer and Moderna add, ‘Pritzker said. “The last thing is, the federal government has been announcing new vaccine shipments for the past 48 hours. In addition to those coming to the United States, they are actually going directly to the FQHCs. [Federally Qualified Health Centers], and two pharmacies in Illinois. You heard yesterday that Walgreens will get an extra amount of vaccine and that the amount will increase, which is very helpful for all of us. ‘

Illinois reports 2,598 new cases of coronavirus, 32 deaths, ’95’ vaccinations’ survey

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday reported 2,598 new cases of coronavirus, with 32 additional deaths attributed to the virus and a “record that administered 95,000 doses of vaccine” the previous day.

According to the latest IDPH data, the new and probable cases of coronavirus bring the total amount of the country to 1,158,431 since the pandemic began. The additional deaths bring the state to 19,873 during the pandemic.

In the past 24 hours, state laboratories reported 103,009 new samples for testing. The state’s seven – day positive rate for all COVID tests dropped to 3.1% and the positive rate for individuals to 3.7%.

As of Thursday evening, 1,915 individuals had been admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19, with 437 of the patients in the intensive care units and 211 patients in ventilators.

According to IDPH data, a total of 1,940,425 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were delivered to providers in Illinois and Chicago, with another 445,200 doses allocated to the federal government’s program to help long-term care facilities vaccinate staff and patients. That brings the total number of doses sent to Illinois to 2,385,625.

On Thursday, 95,375 doses were administered according to IDPH, which noted the number as a ‘record-breaker’. The state administered 1,644,483 doses of the vaccine, including 231,814 at long-term care institutions.

Pritzker visits Cook County vaccination site

The Illinois government, JB Pritzker, is expected to visit a COVID-19 vaccination site in suburban Cook County on Friday.

Pritzker is scheduled to join local officials at 12 a.m. to visit the Federally Qualified Health Center Vaccination Center at Aunt Martha’s Chicago Heights Community Health Center, located at 1536 Vincennes Avenue in Chicago Heights, according to his public schedule.

The event can be watched live in the video player above.

Illinois reports first case of South African COVID-19 variant

Illinois reported the first case of the South African COVID-19 variant on Thursday, health officials announced.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said the first case of coronavirus variant B.1.351, first identified in South Africa, had been found in the state. The confirmed variant was in a Rock Island resident, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We expected more cases of variants to be detected in Illinois, including the B.1.351 strain,” said the director of IDPH, dr. Ngozi Ezike, said. ‘These variants seem to be spreading faster, which could lead to more cases of COVID-19 and even a new boom. Our best way to defeat this virus as quickly as possible is to keep wearing masks and getting vaccinated if it’s our turn. ”

In the US, the cases of B.1.351 were only reported at the end of January, health officials said. Studies suggest that the antibodies produced by current COVID-19 vaccines recognize the variant, as well as provide some ‘protection’.

“IDPH will continue to work with local health departments, academic partners, laboratories and the CDC to monitor cases. IDPH has increased its surveillance for these and other variants by using genomic sequence testing on a larger number of samples,” reads a post.

Coronavirus in Illinois: 2,838 new cases, 102 deaths, 69,000 vaccinations reported Thursday

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday reported more than 2,800 new cases of coronavirus, with 102 additional deaths attributed to the virus and more than 69,000 doses of the vaccine administered the previous day.

According to the latest IDPH data, 2,838 confirmed and probable cases have been reported over the past 24 hours. Those new cases amount to the total amount of the country since the beginning of the pandemic 1 155 833.

Health officials noted that about 80 cases previously reported in McLean County were removed in total due to false positive results. IDPH said officials are currently reviewing the situation.

The 102 additional deaths bring the state to 19,841 deaths during the pandemic.

In the past 24 hours, state laboratories reported 96,525 new samples for testing. The state’s seven-day positive rate for all COVID tests remained at 3.3%, the same as the previous day, while the positivity rate on individuals dropped to 3.9%.

There are currently 1,954 individuals hospitalized in Illinois due to COVID-19, of which 448 patients are in intensive care units and 227 patients are currently in ventilators.

According to IDPH data, a total of 1,929,850 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were delivered to providers in Illinois and Chicago, with another 456,100 doses allocated to the federal government’s program to help long-term care facilities vaccinate staff and patients. This brings the total number of doses to Illinois to 2,385,950.

IDPH administered 69,029 doses on Wednesday, indicating that the state administered 1,549,108 doses of the vaccine, including 226,974 at long-term care facilities.

See how your country’s COVID vaccination data compares to the state

As Illinois approaches the end of the second week of phase 1B COVID-19 vaccinations, health officials have administered more than 1.5 million doses. Look at the graph below to see how your country’s vaccinations compare to the state.

Vaccinations in Illinois

More than 300 new COVID vaccination sites open in Illinois

The state of Illinois has added more than 300 new COVID-19 vaccination sites in the last day, health officials announced Thursday, with hundreds more Walgreens stores across the state and some CVS sites now administering vaccinations.

An additional 339 Walgreens sites in Illinois have been opened as vaccination sites since Wednesday, state officials said, as well as four CVS sites.

This brings the total number of vaccination sites in the state to 860.

You can find a complete list of vaccination sites in Illinois here.

Chicago and Cook County will not participate in Illinois in expanding Phase 1B qualification for COVID vaccine

Chicago and Cook County will not expand with Illinois later this month on who is eligible for coronavirus vaccines under phase 1B, officials said Thursday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Cook County Board President announced the decision in a joint statement, saying the city and province are not receiving enough doses of the vaccine to enable them to qualify along with the rest of the state in a ruling of governments JB Pritzker. announced the previous day.

“Our goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible. That said, our biggest challenge in doing so is the very limited amount of vaccine we receive. As we progress every day with the vaccination of people in 1a and 1b, at the moment we are not being given enough doses to enable us to expand the suitability in these phases, “reads the statement.

‘If we do that in Chicago and Cook County, more than a million people will be added to 1b, and the result would be those currently eligible, including the elderly, frontline essential workers and those in our communities. with the heaviest bend, an equally difficult to get a vaccine, “Lightfoot and Preckwinkle continued.

“These phases have been determined after thorough study and consideration, and are based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We recognize that the Governor has to make difficult choices and needs in this diverse state, but given the limited supply of vaccine, “must also make the difficult choices as the leaders of the most populous city and county in the state. We look forward to increasing admission as vaccine supply improves.”