Illinois COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to decline

Illinois has seen a 57% decrease of people in the hospital with COVID-19 since hospitalizations peaked on January 12, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

As of late Thursday, Illinois had 3,135 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, the fewest since December 7 and well off the peak of 7,380 patients on January 12. Of those 3,135 in the hospital, 546 were in intensive care units, and 314 were on ventilators.

IDPH reported 18,464 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 173 additional deaths for Wednesday and Thursday combined. IDPH did not update its data dashboard on Thursday, because the winter storm that hit Illinois Wednesday and Thursday closed several offices.

The state’s seven-day rolling average for new cases dropped to 8,627 new cases a day, the lowest average since Dec. 17.

For Wednesday and Thursday, the state administered 19,798 shots.

The state received the results of 186,422 COVID-19 tests for Wednesday and Thursday. The state’s positivity rate dropped to 5.8%

Illinois has seen 2,957,563 total cases of the virus, and 31,296 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 51,846,053 tests since the start of the pandemic.

Vaccine update: As of Friday, IDPH reported a total of 23,201,345 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 20,623,484 vaccines administered.

As of the time this story was published, 7,953,069 of the population of Illinois have been fully vaccinated, or 62.42%. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Also, 3,918,990 people have received a booster dose, or 30.75% of the state’s population. Among 5-11 year olds, 36.73% have received at least one vaccine dose and 28.31% are fully vaccinated.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,428,448 (70.7%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,585,837 (80.4%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,100,044 (74.7%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,154,695 (84.5%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,494,943 (76.1%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,467,430 (85.9%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,786,873 (87.5%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,965,457 (95%)

There can be as much as a 72-hour delay in reporting from healthcare providers on vaccines administered.

In northern Illinois, here is the percentage of the population fully vaccinated by county:

Chicago: 65.23%

Suburban Cook: 69.40%

Lake: 66.65%

McHenry: 63.25%

DuPage: 72.91%

Kane: 63.20%

Will: 63.82%

Kendall: 65.88%

La Salle: 55.30%

Grundy: 55.35%

DeKalb: 54.28%

Ogle: 54.52%

Lee: 56.68%

Whiteside: 49.97%

Bureau: 53.24%

Regional update: All 11 regions in the state are in Phase 5.

Regional data from the IDPH remains on a three-day lag.

The North Suburban (McHenry and Lake counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 9.3%. Currently, 17% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average decreased to 11.9%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 8.4%.

Hospitalizations have decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to a total of 233 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 9.5%. Currently, 22% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 10.6%, and DuPage County’s decreased to 9.0%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 346 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 9.9%. Currently, 14% of ICU beds are available.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 183 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The North (Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 11.9%.

Currently, 14% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate fell to 9.0%, Lee County’s rate decreased to 7.3%, and Whiteside County’s went down to 11.5%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 180 total COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The North-Central (Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren and Woodford counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 9.9%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 9.9%. Currently, 17% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for 10 out of the past 10 days. The region is down to a total of 332 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate fell to 3.8%. Currently, 13% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for 10 out of the past 10 days.

Suburban Cook County’s positivity rate fell to 5.8%. Currently, 15% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.