COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois continue decline; 8 million residents fully vaccinated

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 4,742 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 109 additional deaths Wednesday.

As of late Tuesday, Illinois had 2,496 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, the fewest since Nov. 30. Of those, 449 were in intensive care units, and 243 were on ventilators.

The continuing drop in hospitalizations comes as Gov. JB Pritzker is set to announce the statewide indoor mask mandate, except in schools, will come off by Feb. 28. Pritzker is scheduled to speak at a 2 p.m. news conference.

The state’s seven-day rolling average for new cases dropped to 6,141 new cases a day, the lowest average since Dec. 3.

For Tuesday, the state administered 27,077 shots.

The state received the results of 124,732 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday afternoon. The state’s positivity rate dropped to 4.9%

Illinois has seen 2,982,083 total cases of the virus, and 31,679 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 52,372,521 tests since the start of the pandemic.

Vaccine update: As of Wednesday, the IDPH reported a total of 23,348,645 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 20,775,048 vaccines administered.

As of Wednesday, 8,006,642 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 62.84% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Also, 4,011,198 people have received a booster dose, or 31.48% of the state’s population. Among 5-11 year olds, 37.32% have received at least one vaccine dose and 29.64% are fully vaccinated.

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,440,125 (70.8%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,583,554 (80.4%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,098,090 (74.7%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,145,606 (84.4%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,489,590 (76%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,456,494 (85.8%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,783,037 (87.3%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,962,610 (95%)

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

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

Chicago: 65.54%

Suburban Cook: 69.76%

Lake: 67.01%

McHenry: 63.53%

DuPage: 73.17%

Kane: 63.49%

Will: 64.17%

Kendall: 66.18%

La Salle: 56.57%

Grundy: 55.56%

DeKalb: 54.54%

Ogle: 55.03%

Lee: 56.85%

Whiteside: 50.26%

Bureau: 54.59%

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 10.9%. Currently, 16% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average stayed flat at 15.7%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 8.1%.

Hospitalizations have decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to a total of 184 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 9.4%. Currently, 23% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 11.1%, and DuPage County’s decreased to 8.4%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 264 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 8.4%. 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 129 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 10.2%.

Currently, 12% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate fell to 10.6%, Lee County’s rate decreased to 4.7%, and Whiteside County’s went up to 9.8%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 159 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 8.9%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 7.8%. Currently, 22% 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 260 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate fell to 3.4%. Currently, 14% 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 5.9%. Currently, 16% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.