Illinois COVID Update Today: IL reports 15,732 new cases, 143 deaths

CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois public well being officers reported 15,732 new COVID circumstances and 143 associated deaths Wednesday.

There have been 2,867,299 complete COVID circumstances, together with 30,419 deaths within the state because the pandemic started.

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The seven-day statewide check positivity fee is 14.6%.

Inside the previous 24 hours, laboratories have reported testing 143,139 new specimens for a complete of fifty,359,271 because the pandemic started.

As of Tuesday night time, 5,019 sufferers in Illinois had been reported to be within the hospital with COVID-19. Of these, 877 sufferers had been within the ICU and 503 sufferers with COVID-19 had been on ventilators.

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A complete of twenty-two,983,745 vaccine doses have been administered in Illinois as of Tuesday and 61.85% of the state’s inhabitants is absolutely vaccinated. The seven-day rolling common of vaccines administered day by day is 39,760.

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Whereas 1000’s of individuals stay in Illinois hospitals with COVID, hospitalizations and ICU numbers are flattening and case numbers are lowering as omicron has hit its peak.

But, drug firms are starting trials for a tweaked vaccine that targets the variant.

“Timing is the whole lot, you clearly can’t have the vaccine the day a variant comes out, so by the point it’s obtainable omicron is perhaps within the rear view mirror,” mentioned Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of Illinois Dept. of Public Well being.

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Or, omicron continues to flow into and a brand new tailored vaccine will give us a leg up on the following variant. A brand new one labeled “stealth omicron” has been detected in the US.

“It’s actually value a attempt to have vaccines prepared and have then examined within the occasion we’ve got to take care of additional omicron infections or a variant of omicron that turns into dominant,” UIC Infectious Ailments Director Dr. Richard Novak mentioned.

Novak says it’s how vaccine growth for the flu has labored for years.

“We don’t know for positive which flu viruses will flow into, however the vaccines are made nicely prematurely of the flu season with a purpose to have the vaccine prepared,” he mentioned.

And whereas flu shot charges will not be nice, there’s concern there could also be some vaccine fatigue if individuals have to take one more COVID dose.

“We don’t know what’s in retailer, however we’re grateful the present vaccines have been in a position to do the job and maintain absolutely vaccinated individuals out of the hospital,” Ezike mentioned.

Whereas Pfizer and Moderna work on a tweaked vaccine for Omicron, the U.S. authorities is aggressively pushing drug firms to provide you with a common vaccine that might work nicely in opposition to any COVID variant.