IDPH Reports 13 Illinois Counties at an Elevated Community Level for COVID-19
IDPH has recorded a total of 4,109,047 cases and 36,600 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic. The department is reporting 7,879 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois in the week ending March 26, and 16 deaths.
"I am once again pleased to see COVID-19 community levels remain relatively low," said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. "As we enter the spring season, I encourage Illinois residents to discuss their risk for serious illness with their medical provider and perform safe public health practices to protect themselves and their loved ones."
IDPH is helping Illinoisans stay prepared for any future surge of COVID-19 cases by offering 1 million free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to Illinois residents in all zip codes outside the City of Chicago through a partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation's public charity, RF Catalytic Capital and its Project ACT (Access COVID Tests) program.
The CDC authorized two new bivalent booster vaccines on September 1 that include an mRNA component of the original strain to provide an immune response that is broadly protective against COVID-19 and an added mRNA component in common between the omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 lineages to provide better protection against COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant.
Initially, the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent, was authorized for use as a single booster dose in individuals 18 years of age and older and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent, was authorized for use as a single booster dose in individuals 12 years of age and older. On October 12, the CDC authorized the updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech for children ages 5 through 11 years, and from Moderna for children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 years.
On December 9, the CDC expanded its authorization for bivalent boosters to include children aged 6 months to 5 years. Children ages 6 months through 5 years who previously completed a Moderna primary series can now receive a Moderna bivalent booster 2 months after their final primary series dose. Children ages 6 months through 4 years who are completing a Pfizer primary series will receive a Pfizer bivalent vaccine as their third primary dose.
On March 14, the FDA expanded its authorization for bivalent boosters to include children aged 6 months to 4 years who had previously completed their entire Pfizer primary series with the monovalent vaccine. These children will now to be able to receive the Pfizer bivalent vaccine as their booster, at least 2 months after completion of the primary series with the monovalent vaccine. The children in this age group who completed their Pfizer primary series with the bivalent booster as their 3rd dose (after December 2022) are not eligible for a booster dose of a bivalent vaccine at this time.
As of last night, 840 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 104 patients were in the ICU and 26 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is 65 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinoisans.
In counties at the Medium Community Level, persons who are elderly or immunocompromised (at risk of severe outcomes) are advised to wear a mask in indoor public places. They should also get up to date on COVID-19 vaccines or get their bivalent booster, if eligible.