Update on Phase 1B Vaccinations: Governor Pritzker announced this week that the state is expecting to receive up to a half million COVID-19 vaccine doses from the federal government by the end of this week.  Currently, 850 vaccination sites have opened across the state, including mass vaccination sites in all 11 regions of the state.  Illinois is now ranked 18th among all states with 12 percent of the state having received at least one dose of the vaccine. 

In addition to the 3.2 million eligible residents under Phase 1B, tomorrow, February 25, this eligibility will expand to individuals aged 16 and older with comorbidities, disabilities, and other underlying health conditions such as those with Cancer, Chronic Kidney Disease, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Diabetes, Heart Condition, Immunocompromised State from a Solid Organ Transplant, Obesity, Pregnancy, Pulmonary Disease, and Sickle Cell Disease.  No data is available as to how many more residents will now be eligible under this expansion.

A total of 2,584,125 vaccine doses have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, over 445,000 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 3,029,325. A total of 2,310,929 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 291,273 for long-term care facilities. The 7-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 58,141 doses.

Also, as a reminder, the state has updated its COVID-19 website containing current locations and other pertinent information on one webpage.

ACC Tracker with State Vaccine Updates & COVID-19 Orders:  The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has again updated its comprehensive COVID-19 Tracker (attached to this Update) with separate charts illustrating state vaccine plans, including documents detailing updated state specific orders and mitigation measures as well as executive orders and legislation relating to business liability. 

Canada COVID-19 Information: For those members who would like to receive information about vaccination protocols and COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, please reach out to Mark Biel at [email protected] to be added to the distribution list. Our friends at the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada have been kind enough to share their COVID-19 information with us.

Update on COVID-19 Cases: IDPH is reporting 1,179,342 positive tests of COVID-19 in Illinois, an average increase of 1,803 new positive tests per day since reported here 7 days ago on February 17.  In total, 17,804,537 tests have now been conducted in Illinois for the virus, an average increase of 69,103 tests per day since February 17. 

The state’s average positivity rate over all 11 regions is at 2.6% for the last 7 days.  This is the lowest positivity rate the state has seen since last summer when the state went into Phase 4, which is where the entire state is now.  You can see where the various regions are at in terms of their positivity rates, hospitalizations, and other metrics at this link. 

Unfortunately, IDPH is reporting a total of 20,374 deaths, an average increase of 45 per day since February 17.

You can also check where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak.

Also, IDPH has a case breakdown of the number of positive cases in Chicago and each county relative to the number of fatalities.  The IDPH website also now includes a breakdown of the cases under each zip code in the state.

For information on other states and countries, John Hopkins University has developed this website that provides invaluable resources at a one-stop location detailing testing and tracing trends, timelines of COVID-19 policies, and interactive maps.

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