Health
Illinois Receives Its 1st Shipment of COVID-19 Vaccine as Officials Urge Patience
COVID-19 in Illinois: 7,214 New Cases, 103 Additional Deaths
J.B. Pritzker talks Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 during the state’s daily COVID-19 briefing. (WTTW News)
Monday marked a historic moment in the fight against the coronavirus as Illinois received its first shipment of a vaccine developed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
“Today is a very special day that should instill us all with optimism and hope,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
The governor said he was excited to get up Monday morning and watch as the state received about 43,000 doses of the vaccine at the Illinois Strategic National Stockpile. “The people who were there – the troopers, logistics managers, folks packing and unpacking the boxes – they all recognized, as I do, this is history in the making,” Pritzker said.
Full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic from WTTW News.
Officials expect to receive a total of 109,000 doses of the vaccine this week, with doses shipped directly to Chicago, as well as the public health departments of Cook, Lake, Madison and St. Clair counties, according to officials.
Chicago officials announced Monday their first vaccination will occur Tuesday morning.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike echoed Pritzker’s enthusiasm. “Today has been highly anticipated,” she said. “We’ve been praying for this day and preparing for this day for months,” she said.
Given the limited availability of initial doses of the vaccine, the state is prioritizing health care workers and long-term care residents and staff. As more vaccine becomes available, more people can be vaccinated, Ezike said, urging people to be patient.
“Let’s work to protect and not infect those we love and those around us,” she said, adding that people must continue to wear masks, wash their hands, avoid crowds and maintain social distance.
On Monday, state health officials reported another 7,214 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 103 virus-related deaths, including a Cook County man in his 20s.
Since the pandemic began in Illinois, 856,118 cases and 14,394 deaths have been reported across the state.
While officials have been bracing for a post-Thanksgiving surge in coronavirus cases, there has yet to be one.
“For the last week that ended on Saturday, (we have) not seen a significant spike or surge in (the number of coronavirus) cases from the previous week, so that is good news,” Ezike said, adding a few regions had tiny increases during that time frame. “We haven’t seen anything significant to talk about now. We’ll see for sure in the coming week. We’ll keep our fingers crossed we won’t see a big bump.”
Labs processed 92,256 tests since Sunday, according to IDPH. As of Sunday night, 4,951 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, and of those, 1,070 patients were in intensive care units and 621 were on ventilators, according to officials.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases is 8.7% – down from 10.3% a week ago, according to state health officials.
Test positivity across the state – the number of positive tests as a percentage of total tests – is 10.3%. That rate is higher in both Chicago (12.5%) and suburban Cook County (12.8%), according to IDPH regional data.
Contact Kristen Thometz: @kristenthometz | (773) 509-5452 | [email protected]
