DuPage County Surpasses 1 Million COVID-19 Vaccinations Delivered

WHEATON, IL —DuPage County health officials has always taken pride in the fact that the county has been one of the leading areas in Illinois where residents have taken the initiative to get the coronavirus vaccines.

But after more than health providers administered more than 27,000 shots into the arms of local residents, the county has crossed over an important benchmark, with more than 1 million shots delivered, health officials said Wednesday.

DuPage County has now administered 1,005,620 shots since the vaccines became available in mid-December. The crossover the 1 million shots mark comes as Illinois prepares to enter Phase 5 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan on Friday.

As of Thursday, more than 51 percent of DuPage County residents (480,551) have been fully vaccinated, according to county health officials. Of the DuPage County residents who are 12 and up who are eligible to receive the vaccine, 70 percent have received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and 61 percent have been fully vaccinated.

More than 90 percent of county residents age 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 87 percent are fully vaccinated.

“DuPage County continues to be one of the leaders in the state in getting residents vaccinated with more than 50 percent of all residents fully vaccinated, and 70 percent of eligible residents aged 12 years and older receiving their first vaccine dose,” Karen Ayala, executive director of DuPage County Health Department said in a news release. “In turn, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have dramatically declined, which confirms the safe and effective protection vaccines provide. I encourage anyone who has not been vaccinated against COVID-19 to get vaccinated to help us all safely get back to enjoying the people and places we love.”