Help Is NOT On The Way: Quad-Cities, National Vaccine Numbers Slashed By Federal Government
With the first shipments of the covid-19 vaccine hitting Quad-Cities and U.S. hospitals yesterday and today, people began to see a slight ray of hope at the end of the tunnel of covid-19 and 2020. However, that light has been pushed further away by the Federal Government, with no reason given.
In his public address Wednesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said the next two shipments of the new Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to Illinois and other states have been “significantly reduced” by the federal government, and that the government and Pfizer “gave no reason” for the reduction.
The expected deliveries of about 8 million and 9 million doses in the next two weeks both have been cut to 4.3 million, Pritzker said.
“We weren’t given a reason for this,” Pritzker said.
In Rock Island County, the Rock Island County Health Department is reporting one additional death from COVID-19: a man in his 70s who had been hospitalized.
The total number of deaths from this virus is now 206.
“We offer our sincere sympathies to the loved onesof this man,” said Nita Ludwig, administrator of the Rock Island County Health Department.
In addition, the Rock Island County Health Department reports 94 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number to 9,933. Currently, 58 patients are hospitalized in the county.
Today, Illinois health officials announced 7,123 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 146 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 870,600 and the statewide death toll to 14,655 since the start of the pandemic.
Also today, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, despite Iowa having numbers three times as high as Illinois even though Illinois’ population is almost five times that of Iowa, announced she was taking away the meager measures she’d had in place.
Pritzker’s mitigations for Illinois are expected to remain in place through the next few weeks at least.
