IDPH Reports 3,729 New COVID-19 Cases in the Last Week in Illinois
ILLINOIS, May 12 - With End of Health Emergencies on May 11, Data Reporting is Shifting
IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra yesterday joined Governor Pritzker and other elected officials and healthcare leaders at an event to mark the end of the PHE at which the Governor issued a proclamation declaring May 11 as "Illinois Public Health and Health Care Hero Day."
IDPH has recorded a total of 4,139,537 cases and 36,870 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic. The department is reporting 3,729 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois in the week ending May 7, and 20 deaths. The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is 29 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinoisans.
"To mark the end of the COVID-19 public health emergencies, we were thrilled to join Governor Pritzker and other state leaders in honoring our public health and health care heroes," IDPH Director Vohra said. "However, I want to remind the public that the end of the PHE does not mean that COVID-19 is gone. While case rates and hospitalizations have remained low, IDPH will continue to focus on protecting the public from COVID-19, especially those individuals who are vulnerable to serious outcomes."
Both IDPH and the Illinois Department on Aging have endorsed recommendations earlier this month by the FDA and CDC for an optional additional updated bivalent vaccine dose for adults 65 and older and optional additional doses for people who are immunocompromised. The bivalent booster is designed to offer better protection against newer strains of the virus.
On April 19, the CDC recommended a second bivalent booster for those who are 65 and older if it has been at least four months since their first bivalent booster. For those who are immunocompromised, they are eligible for a second bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since their first bivalent booster.
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 previously 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 recommended 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. 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. For young children, multiple doses of bivalent vaccine continue to be recommended and will vary by age, vaccine, and which vaccines were previously received.
Under the new recommendations, children 6 months through 5 years of age who are unvaccinated may receive a two-dose series of the Moderna bivalent vaccine (6 months through 5 years of age) OR a three-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine (6 months through 4 years of age). Children who are 5 years of age may receive two doses of the Moderna bivalent vaccine or a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine.
Children 6 months through 5 years of age who have received one, two or three doses of a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine may receive a bivalent vaccine, but the number of doses that they receive will depend on the vaccine and their vaccination history.