About 14% of Illinois residents now fully vaccinated, state reports

After a worrying rise in COVID-19 cases statewide last week, the number of new and probable infections dipped for a second straight day Saturday, Illinois health authorities reported.

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Sunday announced 1,431 additional coronavirus cases, along with 22 more deaths. Sixteen of those deaths occurred in Cook County, and two were in DuPage County, officials said.

After dipping to an eight-month low of 782 new cases on Monday, cases spiked late last week, with more than 2,000 new infections reported both Thursday and Friday. The figure slid to 1,962 Friday.

There have now been more than 2.2 million cases in Illinois, and 21,081 deaths from the coronavirus, according to state data.

Statewide, 75,380 vaccine doses were given Saturday, well down from the 120,426 administered Friday, though that's typical for a weekend day. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 95,171 and more than 4.7 doses have been given in Illinois.

According to IDPH data, about 1.76 million Illinois residents are now fully vaccinated, which represents nearly 14% of the state's population. About 45% of residents 65 and over are fully vaccinated, according to the state.

Locally, suburban Cook and DuPage counties have the highest vaccination rates, at 14.02% and 14.04%, respectively. Lake is at 11.72%, Will at 11.65%, McHenry at 11.16%, and Kane at 11,1%.

As of Saturday night, 1,132 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in Illinois, down slightly from 1,179 Friday night. Of those in the hospital Saturday, 236 patients were in intensive care and 97 patients were on ventilators, state officials said.