Cook County Health surpasses 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered

Cook County Health officials announced Thursday they have now administered more than 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, becoming one of the first health systems nationally to surpass that mark.

“Reaching this milestone is a testament to the faith and trust residents have in Cook County Health and science as a whole,” county board President Toni Preckwinkle said at a press conference.

The health system administered its first dose on Dec. 11, 2020.

Elsewhere, COVID-19 trends continue their upward swing in Illinois.

As of Wednesday, 714 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, up 17 from Tuesday and up 136 from the prior week.

Of the patients in the hospital, 74 were in intensive care units, up three from Tuesday and down three from the prior week. Twenty-four percent of Illinois’ ICU beds were available, the same as the prior week.

There were 23 patients on ventilators, down one from Tuesday and down five from the prior week.

Five Illinois counties, Champaign, DuPage, McLean, Lake and Logan, are rated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having a “medium” COVID-19 community level.

IDPH reported 4,593 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths on Thursday. The new cases bring the state total to 3,132,727, while the death toll is 33,599.

The seven-day average for new cases on Thursday was 3,214, up 619 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths is six, down two from the prior week.

The seven-day case rate per 100,000 people is 25.2, up 4.8 from the prior week.

About 81.4 percent of eligible Illinoisans ages 5 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 72.9 percent are fully vaccinated.

Illinois vaccinators have administered 21,852,456 COVID-19 vaccines, including 4,382,149 booster doses. The seven-day average for doses administered is 16,067.