advertisement

New COVID-19 cases drop to 4,699 as state reports 98 more deaths

COVID-19 infections dropped again Monday with 4,699 new cases, the lowest since late October, as health departments and hospitals prepare for 174,000 doses of Moderna Inc.'s recently approved vaccine to arrive Wednesday and Thursday.

So far, 63,000 Illinois health care workers outside Chicago have received their first doses of the two-shot vaccine. Chicago keeps a separate count.

And 60,450 more doses of the Pfizer vaccine should be delivered Tuesday and Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office announced.

The Illinois Department of Public Health also reported 98 more deaths from the respiratory disease.

Typically, new case tallies are lower on Mondays because of delayed reporting over the weekend.

Following federal protocols, all vaccinations this week are intended for health care workers, but CVS and Walgreens officials are coordinating the logistics of giving shots to people in long-term care facilities starting Dec. 28.

“We will be reaching nearly 900 skilled nursing and assisted living facilities across Illinois, with the potential for 150,000 Illinois patients to access the vaccine,” CVS spokesman Charlie Rice-Minoso said. “We will be facilitating roughly 2,700 on-site clinics over the next 12 weeks.”

CVS is inoculating at nursing homes in other states this week and the vaccines are being well received, he said.

Illinois hospitals were treating 4,460 patients with the virus as of Sunday night. That's lower than the seven-day average of 4,667 and less than hospitalization highs in the 5,000s and 6,000s in November — but it's still a concerning level, experts said.

Last week, the IDPH and Chicago separately received about 109,000 doses of vaccines.

“Later this week, DuPage County Health Department is expected to receive the first shipment of the Moderna vaccine,” spokeswoman Stephanie Cavillo said. “We continue to work with local health systems to coordinate timely deliveries of their vaccine allotment.”

The Moderna boost is welcome news after Pritzker on Wednesday announced the state would get just 50% of its allotted vaccines from Pfizer this week.

Loyola University Medical Center is running three vaccine clinics and had used up about half of its allotment as of Monday, Regional Chief Clinical Officer Richard Freeman said.

“We don't want to lose any momentum,” he said. After vaccinating medical staff, the hospital wants to start inoculating patients who have underlying medical conditions like cancer, Freeman said.

Initially, some vaccines were first delivered to a state warehouse in Peoria, but now doses will head directly to hospitals, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said.

Despite the state operating under strict COVID-19 restrictions with closed movie theaters, banquet halls and no indoor dining, crowds packed indoor and outdoor malls Sunday snatching up gifts.

That poses a risk for contracting the virus, said pediatrician Michael Bauer, medical director of Northwestern Medicine and Lake Forest Hospital.

But if you take that risk, mask up, be smart about social distancing and “don't stand in line,” Bauer advised.

“If inside a store, they're only allowing 10 people, but outside there's 50 people in line, and it's like a typical line that's not distanced. I would not be waiting in that kind of line,” he said.

The case positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is at 7.5% based on a seven-day average.

The number of Illinois COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began stands at 905,069 with 15,299 deaths.

Labs processed 86,454 tests in the last 24 hours.

COVID-19 cases, deaths continue to decline slightly in Illinois

First doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Illinois

Illinois COVID deaths, cases rise slightly; 43,000 vaccine doses delivered

17,000 health workers vaccinated so far; nursing homes could get shots Dec. 28

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.