Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- While more residents have been vaccinated since we last reported, Park Forest numbers still lag behind residents of other towns in the percentage of residents who have completed vaccination regimens for COVID-19. More than 65% of our residents have received one vaccination against the deadly virus, but only half have completed the course of COVID-19 vaccinations, two doses for Phizer and Moderna or one dose for Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Of the 119 communities Cook County tracks for percentage of all vaccinations received, Park Forest now sits at 84, up a modest four places from 88 when we last tallied. Of the communities we track, Country Club Hills (88), Lansing (108), Hazel Crest (93), Richton Park (97), Chicago Heights (99), East Hazel Crest (106), South Chicago Heights (107), Marhkam (109), Harvey (113), Sauk Village (117), Steger (103), and Ford Heights (118) rate lower. These figures represent only the Cook County portions of towns that are part of Will and Cook Counties.
Considering all COVID-19 statistics, municipalities to the north are still turning out in larger numbers for vaccinations. The vaccination rate for South Suburban towns, in general, remains low. A table of vaccination rates follows. At the end of this article is an interactive graph showing the vaccination percentages for all towns Cook County tracks.
Percentage Numbers of People Vaccinated
| Municipality | Percent w/ 1 Vaccination | Percent w/ Complete Vaccinations |
| Calumet City | 54.3% | 40.8% |
| Chicago Heights | 62.2% | 53.4% |
| Country Club Hills | 62.7% | 48.6% |
| Crestwood | 69.5% | 55.4% |
| Dolton | 57.2% | 43.3% |
| East Hazel Crest | 54.4% | 42.8% |
| Flossmoor | 85.1% | 65.4% |
| Ford Heights | 45.6% | 32.5% |
| Glenwood | 65.6% | 51.4% |
| Harvey | 56.9% | 41.3% |
| Hazel Crest | 62.5% | 48.0% |
| Homewood | 79.2% | 61.8% |
| Lansing | 56.0% | 42.6% |
| Lynwood | 56.0% | 44.0% |
| Markham | 57.1% | 42.0% |
| Matteson | 69.2% | 53.7% |
| Oak Forest | 70.2% | 56.0% |
| Olympia Fields | 87.4% | 67.7% |
| Orland Park | 78.2% | 62.6% |
| Park Forest | 65.6% | 50.1% |
| Richton Park | 63.1% | 47.3% |
| Sauk Village | 45.1% | 32.7% |
| South Chicago Heights | 56.5% | 42.7% |
| South Holland | 66.8% | 51.9% |
| Steger | 56.6% | 44.4% |
| Tinley Park | 82.6% | 66.7% |
We can only emerge from the pandemic if larger numbers of people get vaccinated. It is not inevitable that everyone gets COVID, as some have argued, any more than it is inevitable that everyone gets the flu, smallpox, or any other dangerous virus. Vaccinations remain our one and only shot at finally moving away from masks, social distancing, and more extreme precautions against infection.
Vaccinations are effective against all variants of the Coronavirus, including the more-recent varian of concern, omicron. This is according to the CDC, the White House, the World Health Organization, Moderna, and Pfizer-BioNTech. The more numbers of people vaccinated, the better our chances of prevailing.
Currently, the 7-day positivity rate in Illinois is 4.3%, down from 4.8% when we last surveyed, according to current COVID-19 statistics. The positivity rate in Cook County stands at 5.3%, considered a HIGH COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION LEVEL, while the positivity rate for Will County is 8.3% (High Transmission).
As of this date, 2,618 people in the Cook County portion of Park Forest have tested positive for COVID-19. The number of deceased for all of Park Forest has risen to 43 from 35 when we last surveyed.
South Chicago Heights still has no recorded deaths from the virus according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. Cook County overall has seen 12,254 people die from coronavirus so far, with the virus claiming 5,947 in Chicago.
Will County has had 102,436 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,180 deaths. Deaths in Illinois currently stand at 26,698. We have no numbers on people vaccinated in Will County.
COVID-19 Statistics at Ludeman Center
According to the state of Illinois, as of December 10, 2021, Ludeman Center in Park Forest has 284 residents who tested positive for COVID-19. Of these, 277 have recovered. A total of 283 staff members at Ludeman have tested positive. Of these, 272 recovered and returned to work.
Ludeman Center currently employs 885 people and has 326 residents according to the latest figures supplied by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Total Number of Cases of COVID-19 by Town
These hierarchy bubbles show the cases and per 100,000 population for all communities we track.
Again, the numbers of people vaccinated must rise for these figures to stop rising so sharply.
The latest number of SARS-CoV-2 cases for the communities we track follow:
| Municipality | COVID-19 Cases | Most Recent Population Figures | Rate per 100,000 Population* |
| Calumet City | 5,053 | 36,034 | 14,023 |
| Chicago Heights | 4,469 | 27,480 | 16,263 |
| Country Club Hills | 2,395 | 16,775 | 14,277 |
| Crestwood | 1,639 | 10,826 | 15,139 |
| Dolton | 3,110 | 21,426 | 14,515 |
| East Hazel Crest | 169 | 1,297 | 13,030 |
| Flossmoor | 1,126 | 9,704 | 11,603 |
| Ford Heights | 231 | 1,813 | 12,741 |
| Glenwood | 1,276 | 8,662 | 14,731 |
| Harvey | 3,192 | 20,323 | 15,706 |
| Hazel Crest | 2,012 | 13,382 | 15,035 |
| Homewood | 2,479 | 19,463 | 12,737 |
| Lansing | 4,350 | 29,076 | 14,961 |
| Lynwood | 1,239 | 9,116 | 13,591 |
| Markham | 1,781 | 11,661 | 15,273 |
| Matteson | 2,325 | 17,562 | 13,239 |
| Oak Forest | 4,063 | 27,479 | 14,786 |
| Olympia Fields | 487 | 4,718 | 10,322 |
| Orland Park | 7,844 | 58,346 | 13,444 |
| Park Forest | 2,618 | 18,482 | 14,165 |
| Richton Park | 1,693 | 12,775 | 13,252 |
| Sauk Village | 1,256 | 9,921 | 12,660 |
| South Chicago Heights | 635 | 4,026 | 15,772 |
| South Holland | 3,362 | 21,465 | 15,663 |
| Steger | 644 | 4,118 | 15,639 |
| Tinley Park | 6,713 | 48,271 | 13,907 |
| Combined | 66,161 | 464,201 | 14252.66 |
| *Numbers per 100,000 based on most recent population from US Census.gov or derived via formula using rate per 100,000 population and COVID-19 cases as reported by Cook County. | |||
Total Deceased from COVID-19 by Town
| Municipality | Total Deceased | Most Recent Population Figures | Rate per 100,000 Population*
|
| Beecher | 16 | 7,779 | 205.68 |
| Calumet City | 36 | 14,023 | 256.72 |
| Chicago Heights | 83 | 16,263 | 510.36 |
| Country Club Hills | 63 | 14,277 | 441.27 |
| Crestwood | 54 | 15,139 | 356.69 |
| Crete | 17 | 8,117 | 209.44 |
| Dolton | 48 | 21,426 | 224.03 |
| East Hazel Crest | 4 | 1,297 | 308.40 |
| Flossmoor | 16 | 9,704 | 164.87 |
| Ford Heights | 3 | 1,813 | 165.47 |
| Frankfort | 15 | 19,178 | 78.21 |
| Glenwood | 16 | 8,662 | 184.71 |
| Harvey | 80 | 20,323 | 393.63 |
| Hazel Crest | 52 | 13,382 | 388.58 |
| Homewood | 61 | 19,463 | 313.42 |
| Lansing | 21 | 29,076 | 72.23 |
| Lynwood | 7 | 9,116 | 76.79 |
| Markham | 35 | 11,661 | 300.14 |
| Matteson | 61 | 17,562 | 347.35 |
| Monee | 11 | 9,400 | 117.02 |
| Oak Forest | 41 | 27,479 | 149.21 |
| Olympia Fields | 14 | 4,718 | 296.73 |
| Orland Park | 122 | 58,346 | 209.10 |
| Park Forest | 43 | 21,429 | 200.66 |
| Richton Park | 33 | 12,775 | 258.31 |
| Sauk Village | 7 | 9,921 | 70.56 |
| South Chicago Heights | 0 | 4,026 | 0.00 |
| South Holland | 71 | 21,465 | 330.78 |
| Steger | 9 | 9,331 | 96.45 |
| Tinley Park | 75 | 48,271 | 155.37 |
| University Park | 11 | 6,958 | 158.09 |
| Combined | 1,109 | 484,601 | 228.85 |
*Numbers per 100,000 based on most recent population from US Census.gov or derived via formulat using rate per 100,000 population and COVID-19 cases as reported by Cook County. |
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State of Illinois COVID-19 Statistics: Most Recent Update
Public Health Officials Announce 49,668 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week
Monoclonal antibody treatment estimated to have prevented 235 hospitalizations over the past month
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 49,668 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 266 deaths since December 3, 2021.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,884,744 cases, including 26,801 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since Friday, December 3, 2021, laboratories have reported 1,160,624 specimens for a total of 40,810,633. As of last night, 3,257 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 662 patients were in the ICU and 299 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from December 3-9, 2021 is 4.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from December 3-9, 2021 is 5.8%.
A total of 18,007,906 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 72,775 doses. Since Friday, December 3, 2021, 509,428 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, approximately 70% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 62% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Approximately 41% of Illinois’ eligible adults have received a booster dose of vaccine.
Monoclonal antibodies therapy is a prevention as well as treatment option for COVID-19 illness for non-hospitalized people and is a way to lower the chance of progression to severe illness or hospitalization. An estimated 235 or more hospitalizations were avoided over a 4-week time period due to monoclonal antibody treatment. IDPH continues to encourage health care providers, including primary care offices, outpatient clinics, urgent care centers, infusion centers, dialysis centers, home health services, and hospitals to assess their capabilities to provide this treatment to their patients quickly after they have been identified as having COVID-19 and are determined to be at risk for severe illness or hospitalization.
All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.
Percentages of people vaccinated in towns tracked by Cook County:
