70% of Illinois adults are vaccinated against COVID-19, and the state monitors Delta variants.news

This has been achieved thanks to the vaccination program in Illinois. Under this program, the state has provided more than 12 million vaccines and fully vaccinated more than 6 million people. Cases have fallen to the lowest levels since the onset of the pandemic, with a case positive rate of less than 1%.

Last week, when the state became the first state in the Midwest to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70% of adults over the age of 18 receive at least one vaccination by July 4. We hit another big vaccination milestone. On Friday, Illinois gave 6,982,055 people at least one dose, and 70.9% of the state received a single dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Everything seems to be going well, but medical professionals, including Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Public Health Service, warn people that COVID-19 is not a thing of the past.

“It’s important to remember that we’re still in a pandemic,” Ejike said on June 10, just one day before the state was fully reopened. “The virus can continue to spread to unvaccinated individuals, which can lead to additional mutations and new, more virulent mutations.”

These toxic variants may be beginning to cause havoc in Illinois. The Alpha variant in the UK caused a slight surge in spring cases, but failed due to vaccination.

This time another threat arises. The Delta subspecies from India outbreaks in the spring, killing thousands across the subcontinent. Delta is believed to be 2-3 times more contagious than other variants and is already causing problems in the United States. Especially in Missouri, there is an increasing trend in areas with low vaccination rates.

What does this mean for Illinois? Like other states, Illinois has exceeded the 70% threshold for at least one injection in adults, but not enough to reach herd immunity, with 47.26% of the population I am vaccinated. This is well below the 70-80% mark that most healthcare professionals feel is needed to protect the wider population from outbreaks.

Dr. Vidia Sandeleshan, Head of Infectious Diseases Department at South Illinois University School of Medicine and Medical Advisor at the School of Public Health in Sangamon County, said the outbreak of delta mutant fuels should be avoided by the state through continuous vaccination. Said that it was a thing.

“That’s why it’s so important to vaccinate and increase the number,” Sanderechan said. “There is no doubt that the number of unvaccinated people will increase.”

She said the key to preventing the next surge in the coming months was to continue vaccination and obtain herd immunity, including examples from highly vaccinated states such as Connecticut. I will point out as an example of the ability of shots to suppress the occurrence.

“Although the numbers are small, if many people are vaccinated, there is some herd immunity protection,” said Sanderechan. “Breakthroughs occur in (mostly) immunocompromised (or) elderly people. We know that the antibody response to vaccination lasts at least 8-9 months.”

For those who are vaccinated, Sandeleshan says there is little reason to worry. She cites a study that states that two-shot vaccines like Pfizer Jab work well against mutants as a reason to be less concerned about potential breakthrough delta cases in vaccinated people. I am.

“The (Pfizer) vaccine can protect (humans) up to 88%,” Sundereshan said. “A little less than the other variants, but the data show that it works.”

Illinois is well-positioned in the fight against the Delta Variant, and cases in the past week have remained low. IDPH reported 1,744 new cases this week, which killed 66 people. The case positive rate remains low, at 0.8%, and the rate of testing remains at 0.6%. For delta variants, the state has reported a total of 84 cases so far.

The state exceeded 6 million people who were fully vaccinated on Friday, and 6,021,634 were fully vaccinated throughout the state. However, daily vaccination rates have been low since winter. IDPH reported an average daily dose of 28,798 times last week, the lowest since January 24th. The state received 201,587 doses last week, for a total of 12,360,117 doses.