Public Health Officials Announce 8,426 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week

IDPH Supports Recommendation for Additional Boosters for Individuals who are Immunocompromised or Over 50, Four Months After First Booster Dose

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 8,426 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 87 deaths since March 25, 2022. 

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,069,650 cases, including 33,394 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic.  The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.  Since March 25, 2022, laboratories have reported 501,236 specimens for a total of 57,392,864 since the start of the pandemic.  As of last night, 500 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19.  Of those, 73 patients were in the ICU and 26 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. 

The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is  65.3 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinoisans. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from March 25-31, 2022 is 1.7%.  The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 25-31, 2022 is 1.7%. 

This week, IDPH informed Illinois vaccine providers that it has adopted the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a second booster dose for certain individuals at least four months after the first booster dose. This applies to adults over 50 years of age, and to immunocompromised individuals over 12 years old. The CDC also recommended a second booster dose with an mRNA vaccine for all those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for both their primary dose and their first booster, four months after their first booster dose. Those who already received an mRNA booster dose after their initial Johnson and Johnson primary vaccine do not need an additional booster unless they are either over the age of 50 years or immunocompromised.

The state also announced that providers who administer COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured individuals can bill the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ (HFS) COVID-19 Uninsured Program for vaccine administration. More information on the HFS program, which also covers COVID-19 testing, is available here.

As of today, April 1, IDPH and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency are discontinuing their joint effort of the Statewide Community Partner Vaccination and Staffing Assistance Program. Vaccines will continue to be readily available at locations across the state, including pharmacies, local health departments, doctor’s offices, and other health centers. 

Since the COVID-19 vaccine became available to the public, millions of eligible adults and children across the state of Illinois have received their COVID-19 vaccine or booster dose.

Illinois remains among the highest in the Midwest for its vaccination rates, with more than two thirds of the population fully vaccinated.

A total of 21,374,596 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight.  The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 8,386 doses.  Since March 25, 2022, 58,703 doses were reported administered in Illinois.  Of Illinois’ total population, more than 76% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 68% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 50% are boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.    

All data are provisional and are subject to change.  Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.  

Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic.  To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.

This week, the federal government established a new website that provides an all-purpose toolkit that provides information on how to obtain masks, treatment, vaccines and testing resources for all areas of the country at: https://www.covid.gov/.