SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) — As COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise in Illinois, the state will soon expand eligibility to allow more people to make appointments to get vaccinated.
Starting Monday, people 16 and older are now eligible to get a shot. Chicago will wait until April 19 to expand eligibility.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said if vaccination totals go up, hospitalizations should go down.
“Basically, people who are ending up in the hospital are people who have not been vaccinated, so guess what, if you get vaccinated you’re highly unlikely to end up going to the hospital,” Pritzker said.
On Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 4,004 new and probable cases of the coronavirus, the highest total since January. More than 1,800 people are reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19.
“It is very challenging,” Pritzker said. “I worry about it, honestly. I watch these numbers every day, so I am hypersensitive to what direction is the state going and what do we need to do next.”
A factory mix-up that ruined 15 million doses will limit the amount of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine the state receives this week. Last week, Illinois received nearly 150,000 doses, but that number will drop to around 17,000 this week.
State health officials are trying to determine the number of variants of the virus in Illinois, including a “double mutant” form of the virus, which health officials suspect is highly contagious.
“The danger of the new variants spreading means that we want every dose to get into arms as soon as humanly possible,” Pritzker said. “The vaccine is the best weapon against the variants and it’s the fastest ticket back to normal life.”
Pritzker said more than 164,000 doses of the vaccine were administered Thursday. The total number of vaccine doses for the state is 8,841,285.
Eligible residents are asked to schedule an appointment online or call the IDPH vaccine hotline at 833-621-1284.
By KEVIN BESSLER for the Illinois Radio Network
