Full Notification

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM MAYOR GRASSO ON COVID-19
Thursday, December 10, 2020
VACCINES COMING - “MASK FOR US”
 

On December 2, the CDC issued new guidance for quarantine related to contact with a person with COVID-19. Quarantine can end after Day 10 if no symptoms of any kind have materialized and no tests have been taken. The risk you still may have COVID and can transmit it is between 1% and 10%. Quarantine may also end after 7 days if you receive a negative diagnostic COVID test report on or after Day 5 and have no symptoms during the entirety of the quarantine. The chance a person has non-symptomatic COVID with a negative test and can transmit it is between 5% and 12%. The widely known 14-day quarantine remains in place and is the safest against transmitting COVID by persons with non-symptomatic COVID. The IDPH does not recommend either shortened protocol in congregate care settings.

There reportedly was a slight delay in the FDA approving Pfizer’s super-cold storage vaccine because of allergic reactions in the UK to the vaccine. FDA approval is expected as early as this afternoon. The commencement of US vaccinations is welcomed news to all of us weary of this struggle against the virus; however, large-scale vaccination is not likely to occur until well into 2021 – yet, the virus is still surging amongst us. Do not let your guard done. Stay strong and healthy by wearing proper masks properly, keep social distanced when possible, and wash those hands thoroughly. DuPage and Cook Counties are part of the initial 50 Illinois counties that will get priority for vaccinating our essential health care and those others treating COVID patients. ICU admissions have increased throughout the state but the number of patients in the hospital for COVID has declined slightly. 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. Vaccines will then be brought by local health departments to hospitals designated to begin immunizations. Vaccinations at long-term care facilities are expected to begin very shortly.

Yesterday, the state reported 179 more deaths and another 196 today. The seven-day rolling average for deaths has been above 100 for all but one day since November 20. These trends remain unsettling. The positivity rate in Region 8 (DuPage and Kane counties) has increased to 13.5% on a 7-day rolling average in the past week, up from 12.9% a week prior. In Cook, the positivity has increased to 13.1% over a 7-day rolling average, up from 12.3% a week prior. The capacity for med-surg. and ICU beds is at 20%- too low for comfort. Total COVID-19 cases in Burr Ridge as of today’s dashboards is 645; 458 (DuPage) and 187 (Cook), up 40 cases since December 3. Click here for the DuPage County dashboard and here for Cook County. I offer this perspective about vaccinations:

“The evolvers are people who cause things to change. The maintainers of the status quo do everything to keep things from changing. And, there I see differences of perception. Differences in vision. Differences in interpretation, and differences in temperament, in personality. The number of evolvers are much fewer than the maintainers of the status quo.” – Dr. Jonas Salk