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Coping with COVID: Dec. 4

Light at the end of the tunnel (but still a ways to go). The long-awaited vaccines against the virus that causes COVID-19 are expected within weeks. The first two U.S.-developed vaccines, one by Pfizer and one by Moderna, have requested emergency FDA approval. Both are touted as up to 95% effective. 

Illinois is slated to receive its first shipment of 109,000 doses this month, possibly in about two weeks, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

The state’s vaccine distribution plan calls for first priority recipients of the vaccine to be 

  1. Critical workforce members who provide health care.
  2. Staff and residents in long term care facilities.
  3. Critical workforce members who provide essential functions of society.

Health experts have said the rollout of the vaccine doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. The effectiveness of the vaccine is dependent not only on the vaccine itself but on the proportion of the population that receives it.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said the high effectiveness of the first two vaccines will help reduce the number of people required to be vaccinated in order to slow the spread of COVID-19, but to really defeat the virus, she said, “everyone needs to get vaccinated.”

On Wednesday, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a warning about the dangers of the coming months, mainly because of the strain the pandemic is putting on the nation’s healthcare system. 

“The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” he said.

Wednesday was a bad day. The U.S. saw the most deaths in a single day since the spring peak, with 2,762, and the Illinois set a new record, with a report of 238 lives lost in the previous 24 hours.

Locally, the fall surge of COVID-19 cases was dramatic in November. Homewood surpassed 700 cases on Nov. 13. A week later, the village surpassed 800 cases. As of Thursday, the total stood at 938. That means almost a quarter of all cases identified since the pandemic began were reported in the past three weeks. 

Flossmoor’s trend is similar. It surpassed 300 cases on Nov. 11. As of Thursday it was up to 445.

On Friday, the state reached two milestones, surpassing 700,000 cases of COVID-19 and 12,000 deaths. Illinois is fourth in the nation behind California, Texas and Florida for number of cases. 

The state fares better when measured by case rate. Illinois is ninth in the nation, with 5,534 cases per 100,000 people. North Dakota and South Dakota have the worst rates in the nation, with 10,254 and 8,873 cases per 100,000 people, respectively.

Best practices. World Health Organization officials have also noted that the arrival of vaccines will not immediately end the need for habits that slow the spread of the virus and help keep people safe from COVID-19. This video was released recently as a reminder: 

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