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COVID-19 infection rate dips below 10% for first time since Nov. 6

Illinois' COVID-19 seven-day average infection rate dipped below 10% Tuesday for the first time in more than a month as state health officials tried to allay fears about getting vaccinated.

"Illinois will only distribute a vaccine that is deemed safe," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. "Our team is poring over the analysis released by the FDA on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine this morning. Additional sets of eyes on evidence can only be helpful."

The push by state officials is necessary to ensure the vaccine's success, they said. A limited supply of the first batch of one type of vaccine could be ready to deploy within the next two weeks, they said.

FDA approval of the vaccine could come this week, with vaccine deliveries beginning shortly after that. Health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities are prioritized.

Meanwhile, Illinois Department of Public Health officials reported Tuesday another 145 Illinois residents have died from COVID-19 and another 7,910 new cases of the disease were diagnosed.

That brings the state's death toll from the virus to 13,487, with 804,174 residents infected since the outbreak began.

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