COVID-19 Weekend Update: Valentine’s Day Weekend

By Sandra Folarin and Jeffrey Softcheck, MBA

This past Friday, 95,375 Illinoisans got vaccinated, marking a single day high. There were 103,009 tests and 2,598 newly confirmed or probable cases for a daily case positivity rate of 2.52%, with 32 additional deaths. The last time we had this low of a case positivity rate was on July 21st - a time where we were testing half the amount of people. While the last year has been tough, your efforts have made a huge improvement on our numbers.

So far, 10% of the state’s 12.74 millions residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Last week, vaccinations were averaging 59,000 per day but this rate is incrementally improving as vaccination sites continue to expand. By the time we get into March we should have administered at least another 1,000,000 shots, and hopefully our 10% number grows to 16%.

Importantly, the vaccine data for the state shows the racial disparity that has been evident throughout the pandemic, thus emphasizing the need for vaccine equity via the expansion of appointment scheduling.

Lastly, bed utilization is down. Deaths are also down to 50 per day and incrementally dropping week to week.

Please continue to make good choices and stay safe this Valentine’s Day weekend. Stay masked and consider getting the shot when offered to you.