Coronavirus Cases In Oak Forest: Where We Are, Moving Forward

OAK FOREST, IL — One month down, 11 more to go. The pandemic restrictions have been upon us for nearly a year, and cases continue to fluctuate here in Illinois. As we enter February, many are full of optimism, and a light at the end of the tunnel may be starting to appear.

Vaccines continue to be administered throughout the state. On Jan. 26, the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) opened the first of five mass vaccination sites at the Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Drive. Residents in the 1b category can jump on the Community Vaccination Program website to see if they qualify to receive the vaccine at this time, make an appointment, get information and register for future notifications when the vaccine becomes available for other population groups.

Over 3.2 million Illinoisans are eligible for Phase 1B of vaccine distribution. About 9,000 vaccines are expected to be dispensed weekly, and up to 18,000 doses per week, once the federal government ramps up vaccine distribution.

Vaccine administration has picked up speed over the past seven days, according to statistics from the CCDPH. Just over 100,537 people have received one of two vaccine doses in Cook County, as of Jan. 29. As of the same date, 31,301 people have gotten both doses of the vaccine. This brings a total of 4.4 percent of Cook County who have received one dose, and 1.4 percent who have completed their vaccines series, the department reports.

Johns Hopkins University and Medicine reports there have been a total of 103,090,224 COVID-19 cases around the world— as of Feb. 1. Over 26 million of those cases are here in the United States.

Here in Oak Forest, cases are currently decreasing. The CCDPH reports that as of Jan. 23, the city has had a total of 2,498 cases. The department states 89 cases in the town were confirmed between Jan. 10 and Jan. 16. Cases have decreased by 9.77 percent, according to the department.

Across suburban Cook County, the positivity rate and the rate of hospital admissions has also decreased. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported that there are 1,929 people across Illinois in the hospital for COVID-19 or are under investigation. About 11 percent of hospital beds are being occupied by these patients and 583 of these patients are in the ICU, as of Jan. 30.

Illinois occupies a total of 5,683 ventilators and 1,929 ventilators are in use as of Jan. 30. The IDPH reports 289 ventilators are being used by COVID patients, as of Sunday. IDPH said 76 percent of the state's ventilators are available.