* NBC 5 story on Gov. Pritzker talking about the mask mandate today…

“We look at the numbers, I talk to the doctors at IDPH, especially [IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike], and what we’re trying to evaluate is: are the hospitalization numbers, for example, increasing, decreasing, staying the same?” Pritzker said. “We want them to decrease. They’re not currently, just to be clear.”

Pritzker noted the new hospitalizations remain flat across the state.

“That is not a good sign,” he said. “That’s not what’s happened in previous dips from surges. We went down for a while here, but now we’ve leveled out at a level that is much higher than the summer. And so the question is, is that just a temporary situation? Are we going to start heading downward in those numbers?” […]

“The second, of course, is the the number of vaccinations,” Pritzker said. “You know, just watching, are we actually protecting people more and more? Are they getting their first shots? Are people getting vaccinated and are boosters widespread, particularly among older people? Because that’s where we’ve seen breakthrough, you know, disease has sometimes taken lives at a higher rate than in other age groups. And so we want to make sure that boosters are getting out there, especially to seniors in long-term care facilities or a nursing home. So this is all in the mix of consideration.”

He then said this…

Most importantly, of course, just overall, if hospitalizations are heading downward, if the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 is heading downward, that’s a really good sign. It means that we’re, getting more and more optimistic about removing indoor mask mandates outside of the schools.

“Outside of the schools.” He’s apparently not giving in on that one.

* OK, the last time Pritzker lifted the mask mandate was on May 17 [for vaccinated people following CDC guidelines] and then on June 11 [for everyone]. Hospitalizations on May 17 were 1,503, down from a peak of 2,160 on April 16. They were at 784 on June 11. Hospitalizations continued to fall, bottoming out at 400 on July 2nd.

Then the delta variant started spreading and hospitalizations began rising again in late July and early August. Pritzker reimposed the mask mandate on August 27th.

Hospitalizations peaked at 2,346 on September 9. They were at 1,274 yesterday, which is lower than when Pritzker lifted the mask mandate [for vaxed people] in May, but well above the June 11 number. Pritzker’s right that the indicator has plateaued for the past couple of weeks or so.

As far as vaccines go, we hit a seven-day average low of about 19,000 vaxes per day in mid-September. Aside from a brief dip, that average is now up to about 60,000 per day, but I’m guessing lots of those are boosters. IDPH doesn’t break down its daily totals into categories of who’s getting what.

Anyway, get your shots, people. According to IDPH, just 0.035 percent of the state’s fully vaccinated population has wound up in the hospital. It’s your best bet.

* Meanwhile, one of Tom DeVore’s TROs has been dissolved…

November 2, 2021 COVID Update from our Superintendent stating the reinstatement of mask requirement at the Hillsboro Community Schools starting tomorrow, November 3, 2021.

Posted by Hillsboro Community School District No. 3 on Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Masks work.