CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker received his first and only dose the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, while announcing that more than five million doses of coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the state.
At the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield - one of 14 state-operated mass vaccination sites open to all eligible Illinoisans, Governor Pritzker announced a vaccine milestone.
"Illinois has administered over five million vaccinations, reaching 66 percent of our 65 and over population," Pritzker said.
But with still only about one in three of the state's 16 and older population having received vaccines, the Governor continues encouragement of wearing masks.
"In my view, we need to get much closer to herd immunity before we start talking about people taking their masks off and nobody wearing their masks."
Pritzker was asked if increased positivity rates in some regions of the state would lead to rollbacks of progress and easing restrictions.
"Look, I don't expect us to get there, but I've also been to this movie before and I am concerned, I must tell you, as I see numbers go up," he said.
After the press conference, Pritzker rolled up his sleeve and received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. He told reporters "I feel fine," as he tucked in vaccination card into the front pocket of his button-up shirt.
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He said more vaccine is expected to arrive in the state next week.
"March 29 is a date the federal government has said we are going to start to see more Johnson & Johnson vaccine coming to the state, and that will allow us to significantly increase the number of vaccines given per day," Pritzker said.
With three versions of the vaccine now available, about 100,000 Illinoisans are vaccinated each day at one of over 900 vaccination sites.
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The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Wednesday a total of doses of 5,853,915 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 414,900 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 6,268,815.
A total of 5,036,364 vaccines have been administered in Illinois, including 363,711 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 97,680 doses.
On Tuesday, 107,219 doses were reported administered in Illinois.
Additionally on Wednesday, IDPH reported 2,793 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, including 20 additional deaths.
As of Tuesday night, 1,261 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 269 patients were in the ICU and 130 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.