 The
updated data was released days after the White House and Governor JB
Pritzker announced that emergency declarations related to COVID-19
will expire on May 11. IDPH has recorded a total of 4,029,905 cases
and 36,167 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning
of the pandemic. The department is reporting 10,137 new confirmed
and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois in the week ending
January 29, and 76 deaths.
“It is welcome news that the White House and Governor Pritzker have
announced that we are in a position to wind down the COVID-19 public
health emergencies. This will give IDPH and our partners time to
plan for the transition,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra.
“However, we want the public to know that we will not let down our
guard when it comes to protecting Illinoisans from COVID-19. The
virus is still circulating and causing hospitalizations and deaths
in the state. This is why we continue to focus our efforts on
promoting vaccinations, testing and timely treatment, especially
when it comes to protecting our most vulnerable friends and
neighbors.”
Access to tests and treatments can be found at the following test to
treat site or by contacting your provider for treatment options,
within 5 days of feeling ill.
IDPH is helping Illinoisans stay prepared for any future surge of
COVID-19 cases by offering 1 million free COVID-19 rapid antigen
tests to Illinois residents in all zip codes outside the City of
Chicago through a partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation’s
public charity, RF Catalytic Capital and its Project ACT (Access
COVID Tests) program.
Through Project ACT, IDPH is distributing up to one million at-home
antigen tests to 200,000 Illinois households. You can request one
package of five tests on a first-come-first-serve basis at the
Project ACT website. The tests will be delivered to the home
address.
Free or low cost COVID-19 testing
locations are also available throughout the state, including in
Chicago, and can be found on the IDPH website’s testing locator
page.
The CDC authorized two new bivalent booster vaccines on September 1
that include an mRNA component of the original strain to provide an
immune response that is broadly protective against COVID-19 and an
added mRNA component in common between the omicron variant BA.4 and
BA.5 lineages to provide better protection against COVID-19 caused
by the omicron variant.
Initially, the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent,
was authorized for use as a single booster dose in individuals 18
years of age and older and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine,
Bivalent, was authorized for use as a single booster dose in
individuals 12 years of age and older. On October 12, the CDC
authorized the updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech for
children ages 5 through 11 years, and from Moderna for children and
adolescents ages 6 through 17 years.
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On December 9, the CDC expanded its authorization for
bivalent boosters to include children aged 6 months to 5 years.
Children ages 6 months through 5 years who previously completed a
Moderna primary series can now receive a Moderna bivalent booster 2
months after their final primary series dose. Children ages 6 months
through 4 years who are completing a Pfizer primary series will
receive a Pfizer bivalent vaccine as their third primary dose.
The updated boosters are available at pharmacies, hospitals, and
other healthcare providers. The best way to locate a vaccine
provider near you is to visit www.vaccines.gov and search for
bivalent booster availability.
As of last night, 883 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in
the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 121 patients were in the ICU
and 41 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. The preliminary
seven-day statewide case rate is 86 COVID-19 cases per 100,000
Illinoisans.
In counties at the Medium Community Level, persons who are elderly
or immunocompromised (at risk of severe outcomes) are advised to
wear a mask in indoor public places. They should also get up to date
on COVID-19 vaccines or get their bivalent booster, if eligible.
IDPH has been supporting pharmacies and healthcare providers in
efforts to increase their inventories of the various FDA-authorized
treatments. There are over 1,200 treatment locations in Illinois -
including all the major retail pharmacies. More than 96.7% of the
state’s population is within a 10-mile radius of one of these
locations.
A total of 25,925,437 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as
of today. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered
daily is 4,600 doses, including the bivalent booster and first
doses. Since January 27, 32,203 vaccine doses were reported
administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, 79% have
received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 71% have
completed their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines, and more than
18% have received the bivalent booster dose, according to data from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Data indicates that the risk of hospitalization and severe outcomes
from COVID-19 is much higher for unvaccinated people than for those
who are up to date on their vaccinations. All data are provisional
and are subject to change. Additional information and COVID-19 data
can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19
vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov. The federal
government has established a new website that provides an
all-purpose toolkit with information on how to obtain masks,
treatment, vaccines and testing resources for all areas of the
country at: https://www.covid.gov/.
[Illinois Office of Communication and
Information] |
