Vaccination in Illinois: COVID vaccinations fall short as health officials wait for more deliveries, Chicago mayor blames federal government

CHICAGO (WLS) – Another record day in the COVID-19 pandemic, as the United States reported nearly 276,000 new cases on Saturday. This is the highest total ever in one day.

The record day comes when the federal government and states come under criticism over the distribution of vaccines.

Many health systems in Chicago areas say they do not know when they will get their next vaccines, and the city’s mayor again blames the federal government for ill-treatment.

The U.S. was at the top of more than 20 million COVID-19 infections just as the pandemic transmitted in its second calendar year.

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“We have more cases, we have more hospitalizations, we have a journey that will lead to further increases in January. Now we have this new version of the virus that will spread more easily and saturate our hospitals even more,” said Dr. Megan Ranney, a Brown University Emergency Physician.

And that’s the tail of the deadliest month of the pandemic, as more than 1,000 Americans a day have died from the coronavirus since December 1st.

After Indiana’s deadliest week, city and state officials expressed concern that the vaccine’s delivery was not coming as promised, and not nearly fast enough.

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“Chicago has already distributed> 95% of the COVID-19 vaccine doses it has received. At the current federal government dose increase, it will take 71 weeks – almost a year and a half – around the entire city. We need more vaccination “Now,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a tweet on Saturday.

On Sunday, outgoing President Donald Trump said on Twitter: “The vaccines are being delivered to the states much faster than they can be administered by the Federal Government!”

“This is a logistical failure,” said Dr. Ranney said.

Nationwide, only about 4.2 million Americans have been vaccinated so far, which is 79% less than the Trump administration’s target of 20 million by the New Year.

“So, it just does not work and no state has managed it,” Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said in Utah.

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While health systems are working to get their employees and first responders vaccinated as quickly as possible, Will County is asking its residents to register online to streamline the process as soon as the vaccine becomes more available.

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