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More than 700,000 doses of new COVID-19 booster headed for Illinois in first shipment

An initial shipment of 730,000 doses of the new COVID-19 bivalent booster shot are headed for Illinois after federal emergency use authorization Thursday.

The Illinois Department of Public Health is expecting 580,000 doses of the vaccines to arrive next week in addition to 150,000 doses allocated to Chicago.

“Once the updated booster shots become available next week, I urge everyone in Illinois who is eligible to take advantage of the opportunity to get fully protected before we enter the fall season,” IDPH Director Sameer Vohra said Friday. “These new bivalent vaccines are designed to offer extra protection against the omicron variants, which are now the dominant strain of the virus.”

The news comes as state data showed the daily average of new COVID-19 cases in August came to 3,760 — a nearly 17% decrease from July’s total of 4,521.

Those numbers, however, surpass tallies from a year ago. In July 2021, the average of new cases per day was 969; in August 2021, it was 3,263.

New cases of COVID-19 totaled 4,252 on Friday, IDPH records show.

More than 8 million people in Illinois will be eligible for the new bivalent boosters. Officials said more doses will be shipped after the initial delivery.

The bivalent boosters made by Pfizer and Moderna target two highly contagious COVID-19 variants known as BA.4 and BA.5. Shots will be available from health care providers, hospitals and pharmacies, such as Walgreens and CVS.

“The government’s distribution of the updated boosters is underground and individual CVS Pharmacy locations are receiving the bivalent COVID-19 boosters on a rolling basis over the next few days and weeks,” according to a CVS statement. For info, go to cvs.com.

A Walgreens corporate spokeswoman said the pharmacy will offer Pfizer and Modern boosters with appointments.

Cook County Department of Public Health Chief Operating Officer LaMar Hasbrouck explained the agency will roll the bivalent shots into the existing program “as booster supply and appointment availability ramp up.”

COVID-19 numbers

Thirty Illinois counties have high transmission levels of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, patients in the hospital with COVID-19 came to 1,263 as of Thursday night, in contrast with the seven-day average of nearly 1,305 people.

In July, average daily hospitalizations were at 1,349; August was slightly higher by 3.8%, or 1,400 patients a day.

Thirteen more people died from the respiratory disease Friday compared to the seven-day average of 10.

Where to get new boosters

A good starting source is the federal government’s vaccines.gov.

• In Cook County, check out vaccine.cookcountyil.gov.

• The DuPage County Health Department expects to open registration next week for Pfizer shots. Residents previously vaccinated by the department should receive emails. Individuals also can call (630) 682-7400 on Tuesday for scheduling help.

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