Illinois surpasses 1 million bivalent COVID-19 boosters administered

More than 1.1 million of the new bivalent COVID-19 boosters have been administered in Illinois since they were approved in early September, the Department of Public Health announced Friday.

About 207,000 doses of the boosters, which provide extra protection against the omicron subvariants, were given last week, up around 17,000 from the prior week.

IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said he was encouraged by the trend, especially entering the fall and winter seasons.

“As we are currently experiencing a sharp increase in severe pediatric respiratory diseases that is resulting in a shortage of pediatric beds—and at the same time facing the prospect of a fall and winter surge of COVID-19 and other illnesses affecting all of us—I am strongly recommending the latest COVID-19 and flu shots for all those who are eligible,” he said in a statement.

The Chicago Department of Public Health said more than 239,000 booster doses were administered to Chicagoans as of Oct. 19. Of those, 57 percent went to white residents, 17 percent to Black residents, 14 percent to Latinx residents and 8 percent to Asian residents.

Roughly 13 percent of eligible Chicagoans have received the updated vaccine so far.

CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Friday she remains concerned with the current uptake.

“I worry that our hard work to get to the low (community level of COVID-19) will slide backwards if not enough people are staying current on their vaccines,” she said.

There were 11,955 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Illinois last week, a 14.8 percent increase from the prior week. There were 43 deaths reported last week.

The new cases bring the state’s total to 3,796,038. There have been 35,168 deaths.

The seven-day average for new cases on Friday was 1,708, up 220 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths was six, down one from the prior week.

The seven-day rolling average case rate per 100,000 people is 13.4, up 1.7 from the prior week.

As of Thursday, 1,060 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, up 59 from Wednesday and up 69 from the prior week.

Three counties, Knox, Saline and Warren, at a “high” community level of COVID-19, the level at which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people mask indoors in public spaces. Twenty-six counties are at a “medium” risk level.

According to CDC data, nearly 76 percent of COVID-19 cases in the Midwest between Oct. 16 and Oct. 22 were BA.4, BA.4.6 and BA.5 omicron subvariants. BQ.1 makes up 7.4 percent, BF.7 makes up 7.2 percent and BQ.1.1 make up 6.4 percent.

The region includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.