CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Tens of thousands of health care workers have received the first of two doses of a COVID vaccine, as about 200,000 more doses of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive in Illinois over the next couple of days.
Governor Pritzker's Office announced Monday that about 63,000 health care workers across the state have received their first of two doses of the Pfizer immunization, during the first week it's been available in Illinois.
The state has been allocated an additional 60,450 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week, which have been set aside for a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens to immunize nursing home residents. Immunizations of those people are expected to start next week.
The remaining 20,000 doses are expected to arrive Tuesday and Wednesday at hospitals statewide that have the proper equipment required to store the Pfizer vaccine.
The Governor's Office also announced it expects to receive about 174,000 doses of a second vaccine, from Moderna, on Wednesday and Thursday. The doses, which can be stored at regular freezer temperatures, will go directly to hospitals statewide to continue the immunization of health care workers.
On Monday, for the first time since Oct. 27, Illinois reported the number of new COVID cases reported was under 5,000, with 4,699 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19. The state also reported an additional 98 deaths on Monday, raising the death toll to 15,299.
