Illinois Sets New COVID-19 Vaccination Record For 2nd Day In A Row; Infection Rate And Hospitalizations Continue To Drop
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Three days into the new phase of the state's coronavirus vaccination plan, Illinois reported 55,865 doses of the vaccine were administered on Wednesday, a new daily record. The previous record was the 53,628 doses administered one day earlier.
However, Illinois also passed another grim milestone, surpassing 19,000 coronavirus deaths.
Gov. JB Pritzker has urged patience as the state enters Phase 1B of its vaccination plan this week, with 3.2 million more Illinoisans now eligible to start receiving shots, meaning it likely will be weeks before most people can get an inoculation, even as the federal government prepares to ramp up production and distribution of the vaccine.
So far, Illinois has received a total of 1,789,175 doses of the vaccine, and has administered 829,488 doses. Over the past week, Illinois has averaged 36,728 doses administered per day.
Meantime, key COVID-19 metrics continue to fall in Illinois.
On Thursday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 4,191 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases, as well as 103 more deaths.
The statewide 7-day average case positivity rate in Illinois is down to 4.3%, the lowest it's been since Oct. 12. During the second surge of the pandemic in October and November, the state's case positivity rate peaked at 13.2% on Nov. 13, and -- other than a nearly two-week rise after Christmas -- has dropped steadily ever since.
Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has reported a total of 1,116,372 cases of COVID-19, including 19,067 deaths.
As of Wednesday night, 2,802 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Illinois, including 567 in the ICU and 292 on ventilators. That's the fewest overall hospitalizations from COVID-19 statewide since Oct. 26. Coronavirus hospitalizations in Illinois peaked 6,175 on Nov. 20, though there are still far more COVID-19 patients in the hospital now than at the start of the fall surge in early October, when the state was averaging about 1,500 hospitalizations per day.
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