Governor Pritzker to Release Updated Reopening Plan this Week: Governor Pritzker today said his office and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is working with business interests and health professionals in developing an incremental reopening plan expected to be released later this week. The key bench marks for a full reopening plan include having a majority of seniors vaccinated, as well as consideration of overall vaccinations and seeing the number of COVID-19-related deaths continue to decrease. IDPH did say, however, that with this reopening plan, which will eventually lead to larger, indoor event, conventions, festivals, etc., wearing face masks will still be mandated.

When this plan is released, CICI will send it out to the membership.

Update on Phase 1B Vaccinations: A total of 5,101,825 vaccine doses have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 414,900 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 5,516,725. A total of 4,283,487 vaccines have been administered in the state, including 358,234 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day average of vaccines administered daily is 102,223 doses. Yesterday, 102,390 doses were reported administered in Illinois.

IDPH is now posting the weekly number of COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated from the federal government. Weekly allocations will be broken out into the number of doses allotted for long-term care, second doses, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Safety Net Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, Illinois National Guard Vaccine Sites, Illinois Retail Pharmacy, Minority Health and Mobile Teams, Illinois Department of Corrections, dialysis centers, and local health departments. Both first dose and second dose allocation will be broken out by local health department. The City of Chicago receives its own allocation of vaccine and therefore is not included on the IDPH website. These data include vaccine allocated to the state and do not include vaccine that is part of the federal supply, which is directly distributed by the federal government. Data can be found at http://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccineallocations

Also, as a reminder, the state has updated its COVID-19 website containing current locations and other pertinent information on one webpage.

City of Chicago Opens up Eligibility for More Vaccinations: Starting March 29, the City of Chicago will expand the eligibility for vaccinations like what the state has already done.  The eligibility for those with health conditions applies to Chicagoans 16 and older and will follow the IDPH guidelines that include diabetes, cancer, lung disease, heart conditions and other health conditions.

ACC Tracker with State Vaccine Updates & COVID-19 Orders:  The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has again updated its comprehensive COVID-19 Tracker (attached to this Update) with separate charts illustrating state vaccine plans, including documents detailing updated state specific orders and mitigation measures as well as executive orders and legislation relating to business liability. 

Canada COVID-19 Information: For those members who would like to receive information about vaccination protocols and COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, please reach out to Mark Biel at [email protected] to be added to the distribution list. Our friends at the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada have been kind enough to share their COVID-19 information with us.  In addition, here is Canada's COVID-19 immunization plan.  

Better Business Bureau Guidance on Vaccination Scams:  The Better Business Bureau has released guidance on how to spot a vaccine scam:

• Know your region’s plan for rolling out the vaccine. In the United States, each state has its own process for dispensing the vaccine. Check with your local government or health department. Understanding the process in your area and how you can expect to be contacted will help you spot a scam.

• Research carefully: Scammers are very creative, so be skeptical of anything that seems too good – or crazy – to be true. Double check any information about the vaccine with official news sources, and be aware that none of the vaccines can be currently purchased online or in stores.

• Check with your doctor:  If you want a vaccine early, reach out to your healthcare provider about your options or check out the official website of your local health department for more information.

• Guard your government-issued numbers. Never offer your Medicare ID number, Social Security number, health plan information, or banking information to anyone you don’t know or trust.

• Double check the URL. Scammers often buy official-looking URL domains.  Be careful to ensure that the link destination is really what it claims to be. If the message claims to be from the local government, make sure the URL ends in .gov (for the United States) or .ca (for Canada). When in doubt, perform a separate internet search for the website or call the source directly.

Update on COVID-19 Cases: IDPH is reporting 1,213,765 positive tests of COVID-19 in Illinois, an average increase of 1,579 new positive tests per day since reported here 7 days ago on March 10.  In total, 19,299,281 tests have now been conducted in Illinois for the virus, an average increase of 70,646 tests per day since March 10. 

The state’s average positivity rate over all 11 regions is at 2.2% for the last 7 days.  You can see where the various regions are at in terms of their positivity rates, hospitalizations, and other metrics at this link. 

Unfortunately, IDPH is reporting a total of 20,988 deaths, an average increase of 25 per day since March 10.

You can also check where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak.

Also, IDPH has a case breakdown of the number of positive cases in Chicago and each county relative to the number of fatalities.  The IDPH website also now includes a breakdown of the cases under each zip code in the state.

For information on other states and countries, John Hopkins University has developed this website that provides invaluable resources at a one-stop location detailing testing and tracing trends, timelines of COVID-19 policies, vaccinations, and interactive maps.

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