CHICAGO (WREX) � Illinois is currently leading the way in administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
Speaking during a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says the state has administered more than 100,000 vaccinations so far.
Gov. Pritzker says Illinois has given more vaccinations than states like Texas and California, which have a larger population than Illinois.
"The vaccine team in Illinois sprinted past them all in Week 1," Gov. Pritzker said.
This news comes as the state is expected to receive more than 230,000 doses of the vaccine this week.
While Illinois leads the country in vaccinations thus far, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, is urging everyone to stay home this holiday season.
"Yes, there is a long road to go, but we are truly at the beginning of the end. There's still road to cover, but we have to have, have to, have to stay the course. You can't let people who made it this far not make it to the finish line. We've gone too far to turn back now. The best way to avoid another surge in hospitalizations, another surge in deaths, another surge in new infections is to celebrate the holidays at home with the family that you currently live with. And I know it sounds crazy to ask that yet again, and I know that some of you will and I know that some of you won't or can't, and for those of you I ask for you to think of additional safety measures that you can employ as you travel, as you gather, that can make the visits somewhat safer than the safest option. For those that are staying home, I know you have to reflect on this tough year; all of us are reflecting on this tough year and are thinking of our loved ones. But we will make plans for next year and we will hope for many of the people who are here with us" to still be there next year."
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, IDPH Director
The state reported 6,762 new confirmed and probable cases of the virus along with 135 more deaths on Wednesday. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 918,070 cases, including 15,547 deaths.
Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 82,328 specimens for a total 12,688,071. As of last night, 4,593 in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 953 patients were in the ICU and 536 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from December 16 � December 22, 2020 is 9.0%.
