50% of Illinois adults now fully vaccinated as state records lowest single-day COVID-19 case count since July

State public health officials announced Sunday that half of Illinois adults are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, and 67% have received at least one shot.

But despite hitting those encouraging benchmarks, Illinois is still a long way from reaching the threshold for herd immunity. Experts estimate that would require at least 80% of the population have immunity, either through previously being infected or being vaccinated.

On Saturday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that 39,222 vaccine doses were distributed throughout the state, the lowest total in nearly a week.

Meanwhile, as the statewide vaccination numbers broadly continue to tick upward, the health department reported 602 new COVID-19 infections. That’s the lowest daily case count since July 7, when 587 were reported.

The encouraging numbers come as many Illinois residents are attempting to slide back into some semblance of normalcy over Memorial Day weekend after restrictions stemming from the pandemic were loosened.

The low case count reported Sunday was diagnosed from 38,607 new coronavirus tests, the IDPH reported. The new testing caused the state’s daily positivity rate to jump from 1.3% to 1.6%, although the seven-day rolling average dropped slightly to 1.7%.

As of last night, 1,078 people across the state were hospitalized with COVID-19, 298 of which were being treated in intensive care units. In addition, 163 coronavirus patients required ventilators, IDPH reported.

Eighteen deaths were also reported on Sunday, including eight in Cook County.