CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The latest COVID figures bring both good and bad news for Illinois.
Governor Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike announced Thursday that an additional 150,000 new first-dose vaccine appointments will be made available at the 11 state-supported mass vaccination sites in the Chicago suburbs and at area pharmacies the week of April 12, when the state opens to universal eligibility for individuals 16 and older.
Anyone 16 and older will be able to schedule an appointment beginning Monday in suburban Cook County and the state’s other 101 counties. The city of Chicago has said it will expand to universal eligibility on April 19, meeting a new goal President Joe Biden set this week.
Related
The Governor said the state will deliver more than a quarter of a million doses next week to Cook and collar county sites open to all Illinois residents on top of tens of thousands of newly available appointments at hospitals, local county sites, and other mass vaccination sites throughout the region.
“Weeks ago, we set our sights on April 12 as the date for every county receiving vaccine from the state to open to full eligibility, and I’m so proud that all 101 counties and suburban Cook have met that timeline,” said Governor JB Pritzker.
At the Forest Park mass vaccination site, Governor Pritzker also announced that Illinois has now administered over 6.7 million doses of vaccine.
Additionally, 73 percent of the state's seniors and 42 percent of the state's 16 and over population have had at least one dose; and 25 percent of the state's adult population fully vaccinated.
"Our fight to stay safe and protect ourselves isn’t over, but with each day and each dose, we move closer and closer to putting this pandemic to an end," Pritzker said.
Pritzker said the state is on track to break a single-day vaccination record on Thursday.
“We have everything we need to get to the other side of this crisis as vaccine shipments increase and more Americans are ready to be vaccinated," Pritzker said.
But despite the rollout ramping up, COVID cases continue to climb.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said on March 12, there were under 1,100 people in the hospital with COVID-19. Then on Wednesday, April 7, the state reported almost 1,800 people in the hospital with COVID-19.
Additionally, on March 15, there were 782 cases.
"Yesterday, nearly 4,000 new cases. So yes, we have a vaccine and we are elated about that, but it doesn't mean the pandemic is completely over. We do need to continue to wear our masks before we can return to what we were doing pre-pandemic...
“This resurgence is here, and until we have better herd immunity, we will continue with this layered public health measured response which involves wearing masks, washing your hands, [being] careful with crowds, keeping six feet of distance, getting tested, answering the call when the contact tracers call,” Ezike added.
Related
