IDPH: Almost a half-million bivalent boosters administered; zero counties at “high” COVID-19 risk

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Friday that zero counties in the state are considered “high” risk for COVID-19, a decrease of three counties from a week ago. 20 counties are at the “medium” risk level, a decrease of 13 from last week.

IDPH also reported that 493,000 Illinoisans have received a dose of the new, bivalent COVID-19 vaccines since they were approved for use in early September, including 137,000 doses in the last week. Daily vaccination numbers are at the highest level seen since early February.

“It is encouraging to see the large number of Illinoisans who are taking advantage of the added protection offered by the new bivalent boosters,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a news release. “And while the case rate has been declining, this is not the time for anyone to let their guard down. As we head into fall and face a potential surge in new cases, I urge everyone who is eligible to contact their healthcare provider or local pharmacy to get the updated booster AND their flu shot. These vaccines are especially important for those most vulnerable to severe illness, such as those individuals over 50, those with underlying medical conditions, and those who are immunocompromised.”

Among the total eligible population, those 12 and older, about 4.4 percent have received the new booster. The rate is higher among those 65 and older, at 10 percent of the Illinois population.

In counties at the Medium Community Level, persons who are elderly or immunocompromised (at risk of severe outcomes) are advised to wear a mask in indoor public places. They should also get up to date on COVID-19 vaccines or get their bivalent booster, if eligible.

The IDPH announced 2,101 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 12 additional deaths Friday.

As of late Thursday, Illinois had 899 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, the fewest since May 11. Of those, 130 were in intensive care units, and 31 were on ventilators.

For Thursday, the state administered 23,592 vaccines.

From the IDPH’s data dashboard:

Case rate per 100,000: 12.3 (down 0.1 from Thursday)

Percentage of ICU beds available: 19%

COVID-19-diagnosed hospital admissions (seven-day rolling average): 78 (down 1 from Thursday)

Weekly deaths reported: 64 (up 2 from a week ago)

Illinois has seen 3,762,220 total cases of the virus, and 35,011 people have died.

County-by-county update: As of mid-April, the IDPH will provide a county-by-county update focusing on the case rate per 100,000 people, the percentage of ICU beds available, a rolling seven-day average of COVID-19-diagnosed hospital admissions and weekly deaths.

The definition of a COVID-19-diagnosed hospital admission is as follows: the seven-day average of daily number of hospital admissions given a diagnosis of COVID-19 as measured using the Illinois Syndromic Surveillance System.

Illinois collects all emergency department and inpatient visits through syndromic surveillance from all acute care hospitals in Illinois in near-real time. Data is presented with a three-day lag to allow time for diagnosis to be reported.

At the county level, a visit is counted by where the patient resides. A patient with multiple visits will be counted for each visit. Admissions may not be because of COVID-19 as the primary cause. Syndromic surveillance data is not the same source used by the CDC to report COVID-19 hospital admissions data.

Vaccine update: As of Friday, the IDPH reported a total of 29,483,075 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 23,817,875 vaccines administered.

As of Friday, 8,368,456 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 65.68% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,846,510 (74.2%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,781,607 (82%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,407,380 (77.6%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,285,123 (85.7%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,756,282 (78.7%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,572,158 (87%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,840,763 (90.1%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,990,430 (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: 69.33%

Suburban Cook: 73.28%

Lake: 70.97%

McHenry: 66.31%

DuPage: 76.00%

Kane: 66.91%

Will: 67.18%

Kendall: 70.01%

La Salle: 58.73%

Grundy: 58.08%

DeKalb: 56.86%

Ogle: 57.25%

Lee: 59.19%

Whiteside: 52.13%

Bureau: 56.95%