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There have been 1,650,108 cases of COVID in total, including 25,224 deaths in the state since the start of the pandemic.
The statewide seven-day test positive rate from October 1-7 is 2.6%.
Illinois COVID vaccine map shows how many residents have been vaccinated by county
In the past 24 hours, labs reported testing 145,034 samples for a total of 32,938,108 since the start of the pandemic.
As of Thursday evening, 1,653 Illinois patients are said to be in hospital with COVID-19. Of these, 412 patients were in intensive care and 209 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
A total of 14,822,824 vaccines were administered in Illinois as of Thursday. The seven-day moving average of vaccines administered daily is 35,898.
As of Friday, more than 7.1 million people in Illinois were fully vaccinated. That’s 55.8 percent of the state’s population.
The CDC director has added frontline workers to the list of those eligible for booster injections, which also includes people 65 and older, residents of nursing homes, and people 50 and older with disabilities. Chronic health problems should be boosted 6 months after their first dose. The CDC said young people with underlying health issues can decide for themselves.
With the CDC’s recommendation, millions of Americans will now be eligible for the recall, but the Pfizer chief said he believes there is enough supply to handle those people and those still awaiting their initial vaccination. .
Chicago-area doctors prepare to vaccinate children ages 5-11
Doctors at Northwestern Children’s Practice are preparing to provide the COVID vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 as soon as it becomes available.
“We are definitely committed to having the best access possible and are very excited that this will happen soon,” said Dr. Rebecca Unger, Northwestern Children’s Practice.
Pfizer submitted its data to the FDA on Thursday, and if approved for emergency use, vaccines for the younger age group may be available between Halloween and Thanksgiving. The company said the dose will be lower than in populations 12 and older.
“Children generally respond better to vaccines, they can be a more robust response, which is why we like to vaccinate children because they don’t use as much,” said Dr Taylor Heald-Sargent, infectious disease specialist at Lurie Children’s Hospital. .
Heald-Sargent said the immune system changes with age, which is why it is important to give age-appropriate vaccines.
Lurie Children’s Hospital and pediatric offices are to await advice on whether they will administer a diluted version of what they have or new specialist pediatric vials. Either way, Northwestern Children’s Practice is ready.
“The good news is that we’ve already done this for kids 12 and older,” Unger said. “What we did, we were all on deck.”
As before, the Chicago pediatric practice will likely have weekend walk-in clinics for children ages 5 to 11.
In the meantime, many parents are eager to receive the vaccine. Adelaide, Dawn Birkland’s 10-year-old daughter, was immunocompromised from a heart transplant when she was a baby.
“We’re excited for this, she’s excited for this,” Birkland said. “She looks forward to a flu shot every year, probably because she gets ice cream, but she understands that it helps her and the others.”
As for children under 5, Pfizer said it will have safety data this fall with hopes of having the vaccine for younger children early next year.
Note: The video above is taken from a previous report.
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