311K Vaccinated Against Coronavirus In IL; 22 Cases Of UK Variant

ILLINOIS — More than 311,000 people in Illinois were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Monday after receiving both doses, public health data shows. That represents about 2.45 percent of the state’s 12.7 million residents.

More than 58,000 vaccines were administered Monday, taking the state’s total to more than 1.4 million doses, according to statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

About 216,500 doses were given to residents and staff at Illinois long-term-care facilities through a federal program run by CVS and Walgreens.

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Vaccine administration across the state has sped up significantly over the past three weeks. The seven-day rolling average of doses administered reached about 55,500 Monday — an all-time high — after sitting at about 22,600 on Jan. 20, the state’s data shows.

Nearly 75,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered Feb. 4, the state’s best day so far, according to public health data.

About 63,000 Chicago residents and 58,000 suburban Cook County residents have received both doses, representing nearly two-fifths of all Illinois residents who have been fully vaccinated.

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Adams County boasts the highest vaccination rate with about 4.43 percent of its 65,691 residents receiving both doses by Monday, public health data shows. Alexander County has the worst vaccination rate with 0.33 percent of its 6,060 residents fully vaccinated.

More than 7,000 people who don’t live in Illinois have also received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine, though many are health care workers in Illinois.

Public health officials on Tuesday reported 2,082 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s total to more than 1.15 million cases since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 20 additional deaths Tuesday, bringing Illinois’ death toll to 19,686, according to IDPH statistics.

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As of Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health had confirmed 22 cases of a coronavirus strain from the United Kingdom that “spreads more easily and quickly,” though it’s not believed to be more deadly.

Studies have shown that approved vaccines currently are also effective against the new strains, though scientists continue to study that, public health officials said.

No cases in Illinois have yet been linked to coronavirus strains originating in South Africa or Brazil, public health data shows.

The state’s positivity rate dropped to 3.3 percent Monday, the state’s data shows.