Pritzker says earlier federal notice on COVID-19 vaccine deliveries should make it easier for providers to schedule appointments

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that the Biden administration’s promise of earlier notifications about the number of doses of the coronavirus vaccine coming to states should make it easier for providers to schedule shots in advance.

“What they’re saying is we’re going to guarantee a minimum number and we’re going to tell you that for the next three weeks, so you have at least that number of appointments that you can make available to people,” Pritzker said during a Wednesday news conference in north suburban Grayslake.

Previously, state officials “weren’t being notified about how much vaccine we’re going to receive on a weekly basis until a day or two before it was available,” Pritzker said.

More Top Picks Best Twin Mattresses

“And so it’s impossible, as you can imagine, to make appointments ahead of time if you don’t know how many vaccine doses are going to be available that week,” he said.

A lack of supply and the difficulty of making appointments have been major sticking points in the rollout of coronavirus vaccines. Governors have lamented the pace of delivery and the lack of advance information from the federal government about how many doses could be expected week to week.

Following a White House conference call with governors on Tuesday, President Joe Biden pledged a 16% boost in dose deliveries to states starting next week, and said his administration planned to buy an additional 100 million doses of the two currently approved vaccines.

As the manufacturing of doses rises, “they’ll be able to increase the numbers that they tell us and they’re going to update that number every week,” Pritzker said.

On Monday, an additional 3 million people in Illinois became eligible to be immunized under the state’s plan, which prioritizes essential workers such as teachers and first responders and those 65 and older.

In addition to growing frustration among those who are newly eligible but unable to secure an appointment, county health departments are prioritizing those within the phase 1b vaccination group differently.

With a limited supply, some counties have chosen to start with the essential worker groups. Others have chosen to focus initially on the oldest of those 65 and up.

State public health officials on Tuesday reported a new high number of daily vaccinations administered in Illinois, 53,628. The seven-day average for doses administered daily is now 33,698.

Providers in Illinois have received 1,253,300 doses of vaccine, which includes Chicago’s share. An additional 537,050 doses have been dedicated to the federal Pharmacy Partnership Program, which contracts with CVS and Walgreens to give shots in long-term care facilities.

Of the total 1,790,350 doses allocated to Illinois to date, state public health officials said 773,623 vaccines have been administered, which includes 117,983 for long-term care facilities.

Pritzker attributed the gap between the doses received and the doses administered in part on the federal program for long-term care facilities, which he has criticized for moving “exceedingly slow.” He also said the state is now holding second doses for those who have received their first in reserve.

While the 16% boost in vaccines Biden pledged to governors “isn’t enough,” Pritzker said Wednesday he believes “the ramp-up of the number of those who get vaccinated and the vaccines is just beginning.”

More Top Picks Frigidaire Fgpc1244t1

State public health officials on Wednesday announced 3,751 newly confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 81 additional deaths.

That raises the known statewide case total to 1,112,181, and the death toll to 18,964 deaths.

The new cases on Wednesday came out of a batch of 80,124 tests. The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 4.5% as of Tuesday. That’s declined steadily through this month, and was over 8% in early January.

As of Tuesday night, 2,931 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 across Illinois, with 591 in intensive care units and 300 on ventilators.

[email protected]