Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois says just one in three people in southern Illinois have been vaccinated against COVID-19. And the region has gone days without intensive care unit beds for new patients. He says the vaccination rate in Chicago is two out of three and hospitals aren’t calling other hospitals hundreds of miles away to find beds for new patients.
Durbin said on the Senate floor today the U.S. is 55th when it comes to COVID-19 vaccination rates. He says that’s sad for the nation that led the vaccine development. He says he supports Pres. Biden’s order that employers with 100 or more employees must make their employees get vaccinated.
Durbin also talked about a Springfield woman who died after getting a breakthrough case. He says she had visited a state with a low vaccination rate.