Coronavirus vaccinations are now available to everyone 16 and older in more than 84 of Illinois’ 102 counties following Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s decision two weeks ago to allow local health departments seeing waning vaccine demand to expand eligibility.
Officials, who previously had not revealed how many counties might expand eligibility, released the number on Monday. The list of counties can be found on the state Department of Public Health website.
Illinois is opening vaccinations to residents 16 and up statewide on April 12, although Chicago will continue to set its own rules.
Only 27,248 coronavirus vaccinations were administered in Illinois on Sunday, a fraction of the state’s daily average, although the state said reporting by some providers may have been delayed.
Sundays and weekends have seen the lowest number of vaccinations, and in addition, Sunday was Easter.
The state’s daily average for vaccinations over the last seven days is 105,779, public health officials said. Sunday’s doses brought the statewide total to 6,318,070.
The number of residents who have been fully vaccinated — receiving both of the required shots, or Johnson & Johnson’s single shot — reached 2,380,733, or 18.69% of the total population.
Officials reported 2,102 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 11 additional fatalities. The total number of known infections in Illinois since the start of the pandemic is 1,258,736 and the statewide death toll is 21,384.
The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests — the positivity rate — was 3.8% as of Sunday, up from last Monday’s rate of 3.3%.
The state on Sunday reported 112 additional cases of the coronavirus variant that originated in the United Kingdom for a total of 388.
Officials also reported 11 additional cases of the variant first seen in Brazil for a total of 44, and 20 additional cases of the variant first seen in California for a total of 59. Officials previously identified three cases of the variant that originated in South Africa.
As of Sunday night, 1,581 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 358 patients in intensive care units and 159 patients on ventilators. The seven-day average of total hospitalizations is 1,452, the highest since an average of 1,454 was recorded Feb. 26.
At an unrelated event in Champaign Monday, Pritzker noted the state’s rising hospitalizations.
“We have hospitalizations rising (and) ICU beds getting filled with patients. We’ve seen this before,” he said. “I am hopeful that with the rising number of vaccinations — we’re averaging over 100,000 a day — and with the increasing number of people who are fully vaccinated ... I’m hoping that we can overcome this surge for the very first time ever.”
jwhidden@chicago tribune.com