CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Illinois is expected to receive more than 100,000 doses of the recently approved Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine this week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that it anticipates the state will receive 83,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Wednesday, and more than 90 percent of that supply will be distributed to mass vaccination sites.
“The doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are arriving around the country today and tomorrow, and it will add significantly — 20% roughly — to the number of vaccines that we will have available in the state,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday at an Aurora vaccination site.
“It’ll be more widely available as the weeks move on, and so we just need to ask everybody continued patience."
The City of Chicago, which gets its own supply of vaccines, is receiving more than 22,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the CDC.
Unlike the currently available Pfizer and Moderna doses, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one shot and can be stored at much higher temperatures. Like Pfizer and Moderna, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 100 percent effective in protecting recipients against death and hospitalization, IDPH said in a statement.
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As shipments continue to arrive, IDPH said the vast majority of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – more than 90 percent – will be distributed to mass vaccination sites throughout the state. The remaining doses will be shipped to other providers across the state.
These doses are in addition to the approximate 288,000 doses the federal government allocated to Illinois this week.
“As Dr. Fauci and many medical experts have pointed out time and again, we are so fortunate to have three effective vaccines that are proven to fully protect against death and hospitalization,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “The new Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be distributed for use at mass vaccination sites across the state, so that we are maximizing their capacity and getting as many eligible Illinoisans vaccinated as possible so that we can win the race against the new virus variants and end this pandemic.”
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Also Tuesday, IDPH reported 1,577 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, including 47 additional deaths. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,189,416 cases, including 20,583 deaths.
As of Monday night, 1,231 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 281 patients were in the ICU and 148 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
A total of 3,186,385 vaccine doses have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 443,700 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 3,630,085.
A total of 2,817,892 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of Monday night, including 324,827 for long-term care facilities. The 7-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 80,416 doses; the highest 7-day rolling average to date. On Monday, 61,061 doses were administered in Illinois.
The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 2.4% — the lowest the state has seen since late June — for the fourth day in a row.