Illinois sets single-day vaccine record as Des Plaines mass vaccination site opens
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A new mass vaccination site opened Friday morning in suburban Des Plaines as state health officials announced a new record for most COVID-19 vaccinations administered in a day.
The new site, at 1155 E. Oakton Street, is the first large-scale vaccination center in Illinois administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which only requires a single dose, Cook County Health officials said in a statement.
As many as 35,000 vaccines per day are expected to be doled out when the site "is fully optimized and when adequate vaccine is available," officials said.
Appointments for the Des Plaines location can be made at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or by calling the hotline at 833-308-1988.
The opening comes as a the state reported a record number of vaccinations in a day.
On Thursday, 131,882 doses were administered in Illinois, breaking the previous high of 130,021 given Feb. 24, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Illinois health officials Friday also reported 1,442 new cases of COVID-19, along with 33 additional deaths. Twelve of the latest fatalities were reported in Cook County.
The latest cases were reported among 103,336 specimens over the last 24 hours, health officials said. The state’s positivity rate is now at 2.2%.
So far, Illinois’ coronavirus death toll is up to 20,700. Nearly 1.2 million people were confirmed to carry the virus over the past year.