Illinois Sets New Vaccination Record As COVID-19 Infection Rate Falls To Lowest Point Since Early July
CHICAGO (CBS) -- More than 130,000 people received COVID-19 vaccinations in Illinois on Wednesday, by far the most in a single day so far, as the state's average infection rate also reached the lowest point it's been in more than seven months.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 130,021 vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday, the first time daily inoculations have reached six figures. The previous record was the 95,375 doses given out on Feb. 11.
So far, the state has received a total of 3,138,545 doses of coronavirus vaccines, and has administered 2,440,950 doses statewide. A total of 671,717 people have been fully vaccinated, accounting for 5.27% of the state's population. Over the past week, Illinois is averaging 66,274 doses administered per day.
Meantime, Illinois reported 1,884 new confirmed and probable case of COVID-19 on Thursday, as well as 32 more deaths from the virus.
The state's statewide 7-day average case positivity rate has dropped to 2.5%, the lowest it's been since July 7. The state's average infection rate has now been below 3% for 11 days in a row, the longest such stretch since late June and early July.
As of Wednesday night, there were 1,463 coronavirus patients hospitalized in Illinois, including 334 in the ICU and 168 on ventilators. That's the fewest number of people hospitalized statewide since Sept. 21.