 IDPH
has recorded a total of 4,131,817 cases and 36,822 deaths, in 102
counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic. The
department is reporting 3,963 new confirmed and probable cases of
COVID-19 in Illinois in the week ending April 23, and 19 deaths.
With the national and state Public Health Emergencies for COVID -19
due to expire on May 11, IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra is reminding
Illinois residents about potential changes that they may experience
surrounding COVID-19 care and resources.
“Illinois continues to see low COVID-19 case rates across Illinois,”
said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “As only two weeks remain until
the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and statewide
disaster declaration, it is important for residents to understand
how they will be affected. The good news is that access to COVID-19
vaccinations and certain treatments, like Paxlovid, will generally
not be affected as coverage will transfer from the public health
system to more traditional health care coverage. However, coverage
for COVID-19 testing, especially at-home COVID-19 testing, may
change depending on your health insurance provider. Please reach out
to your health care provider for your most up-to-date information.”
For individuals who are uninsured, the US Health
and Human Services (HHS) recently announced it is launching the HHS
Bridge Access Program For COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments. The
program will create a $1.1 billion public-private partnership to
help maintain uninsured individuals’ access to COVID-19 care at
their local pharmacies, through existing public health
infrastructure, and at their local health centers.
Both IDPH and the Illinois Department on Aging have endorsed
recommendations earlier this month by the FDA and CDC for an
optional additional updated bivalent vaccine dose for adults 65 and
older and optional additional doses for people who are
immunocompromised. The bivalent booster is designed to offer better
protection against newer strains of the virus.
On April 19, the CDC recommended a second bivalent booster for those
who are 65 and older if it has been at least four months since their
first bivalent booster. For those who are immunocompromised, they
are eligible for a second bivalent booster if it has been at least
two months since their first bivalent booster.
IDPH continues to urge the public to seek treatment quickly if they
test positive for COVID-19. Treatment is widely available and IDPH
announced recently that SIU Medicine has made it easier to obtain
care by offering a new telehealth test to treat service for
COVID-19, in partnership with the department. The service is aimed
at providing faster and easier access to treatment for Illinoisans
who contract COVID-19. Those who test positive are encouraged to
call 217-545-5100 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays to schedule a telehealth
appointment to determine if medical treatment is recommended.
Appointments will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Additional options for obtaining 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 previously 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.
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Initially, the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent,
was recommended 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.
On December 9, the CDC expanded its authorization for bivalent
boosters to include children aged 6 months to 5 years. On March 14,
the FDA expanded its authorization for bivalent boosters to include
children aged 6 months to 4 years who had previously completed their
entire Pfizer primary series with the monovalent vaccine. For young
children, multiple doses of bivalent vaccine continue to be
recommended and will vary by age, vaccine, and which vaccines were
previously received.
Under the new recommendations, children 6 months through 5 years of
age who are unvaccinated may receive a two-dose series of the
Moderna bivalent vaccine (6 months through 5 years of age) OR a
three-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine (6 months
through 4 years of age). Children who are 5 years of age may receive
two doses of the Moderna bivalent vaccine or a single dose of the
Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine.
Children 6 months through 5 years of age who have received one, two
or three doses of a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine may receive a
bivalent vaccine, but the number of doses that they receive will
depend on the vaccine and their vaccination history.
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, 475 individuals in Illinois were
reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 49 patients
were in the ICU and 14 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is 33 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 26,159,348 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as
of today. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered
daily is 4,345 doses, including the bivalent booster and first
doses. Since April 21, 21,232 vaccine doses were reported
administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, more than
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 20% 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/.
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