Full Notification

We have entered the meteorological season of winter – the fourth such season since the Governor issued his original Stay at Home Order in mid-March. We also are on the cusp of entering 2021 with COVID-19 still weighing heavily upon our everyday lives. Wearing a mask a year ago would have gotten your attention, now those not wearing one attracts attention. The situation around the state remains overall discouraging, but we have to stay the course until we can be vaccinated.

Yesterday,  IDPH  Director  Dr.  Ezike  and  others  from  the  Governor’s  staff  invited  mayors  and others statewide to a call to explain the vaccine plans formulated to date. They noted these 
plans, as they should be, are flexible. Dr. Ezike informed us that the FDA Emergency Use Authorization for  vaccines  is  anticipated  by  December  10.  When  authorization  occurs,  Illinois  anticipates receiving 109,000 full Pfizer doses (23,000 designated for Chicago; 86,000 for the rest of the state) to  be  delivered  the  following  week.  An  additional  250,000  full  Pfizer  doses  are  expected  the following week (December 20) and 300,000 doses the third week 
(December 27). An additional 700,000 doses are expected prior to January 1, 2021 from Moderna, provided the Moderna vaccine receives authorization. Thus, Illinois may receive over 1.3 million 
total doses in December.

The  number  of  vaccines  immediately  available  will  not  cover  the  entirety  of  the  vulnerable population and essential workers, and thus vaccine distribution will be allocated to the 50 Illinois counties  most  impacted  by COVID-19  as  reflected  in  deaths  per  population.  
Vaccines  will  be shipped  to  regional  hospitals  in  a  prepackaged  vaccine  cooler  to  meet  required  ultra-low temperatures.  The vaccines  will  then  be  brought  by  local  health  departments  to  hospitals designated to begin immunizations. Vaccinations at long-term care facilities (LTCF) are expected to occur in the second week of December. The federal government has contracted with CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate LTCF populations. The full State Vaccination Plan is available here.

The trend in the positivity rate continues to flatten – but the deaths have risen to alarming numbers, even with the dip in reporting from the Thanksgiving holiday. Yesterday, the state reported 192 more deaths statewide and another 148 today: unsettling numbers! The positivity rate in Region 8 (DuPage and Kane counties) has fallen to 13.2% on a 7-day rolling average in the past week, down from 13.7% a week prior. Hospitalizations are trending down as well. In Cook, the positivity has fallen to 12.9% over a 7-day rolling average, down from 13.3% a week prior. The capacity for med-surg. (13.8%) and ICUs (21%) has declined from a week ago in Region 8. Total COVID-19 cases in Burr Ridge as of today’s dashboards is 605; 429 (DuPage) and 176 (Cook), up 62 new cases since November 24. Click here for the DuPage County dashboard and here for Cook County. I offer the perspective of this quote about vaccinations, then referred to as “inoculations”:

“In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the small-pox, taken in the common way.  I  long  regretted  bitterly,  and  still  regret  that  I  had  not  given  it  to  him by inoculation.” ― Benjamin Franklin

SOCIAL DISTANCE – WEAR PROPER FACE COVERINGS – GET VACCINATED!