Illinois administers over 100K COVID-19 vaccines

CHICAGO (AP) - More than 100,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday.

The update comes the same day Illinois reported another 6,762 cases and 135 deaths. More than 15,500 people in the state have died from COVID-19 with 918,070 total known cases.

Public health officials renewed their requests for people to limit travel and interactions outside their households during the holidays. While Illinois overall seemed to have avoided a post-Thanksgiving surge seen in other states, the death rate has remained high following soaring case counts earlier in November. Chicago health officials have said the city did report a spike in infections after Thanksgiving.

'œThe best way to avoid another surge in hospitalizations, another surge in deaths, another surge in new infections is to celebrate the holidays at home with the family you currently live with,'ť Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state public health director, said at a news conference.

She said that if people do travel or mingle outside their households, they should take additional safety precautions. For example, federal public health officials have recommended making sure there's proper ventilation at home.