CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Illinois Department of Public Health on Saturday reported 9,887 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Illinois, including 208 additional deaths.
The IDPH currently is reporting a total of 779,975 cases, including 13,179 deaths. On Saturday, 102,678 COVID-19 tests had been administered for a total 11,021,676.
As of Friday night, 5,331 in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 1,134 patients were in the intensive care unit and 694 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from Nov. 28 through Dec.4 is 10.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from Nov. 28 through Dec.4 is 11.9%.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday outlined the possible first phase of coronavirus vaccine distribution in Illinois that could run Dec. 20 through Dec. 26 with hospital and healthcare workers to be among the first recipients.
Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna each have coronavirus vaccines pending review. If the Pfizer vaccine is approved on Dec. 10, Illinois will receive 109,000 doses of it, with 23,000 going to the city of Chicago and 86,000 for the rest of the state, sometime during the week of Dec. 13.
The governor noted that the number of vaccination doses Illinois is receiving may seem minuscule compared to the state's 12.67 million residents but explained the numbers will increase over the subsequent weeks and months.
"There will be shipments of more and more vaccine each week following that first shipment's arrival. So, although the numbers now may see relatively small in comparison to our population, those numbers will increase over the subsequent weeks and months," Pritzker said.
