Prairie State Wire

A billboard on I-294 outside Chicago falsely states that 99% of COVID patients in Illinois are unvaccinated.

The billboard is part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's "All in Illinois" advertising campaign, which seeks to convince more residents to take a COVID jab. 

One ad features "COVID survivor" Julie Sparks saying her COVID jab is "the only way we can get back freedom."

Graphic on the billboard on I-294 outside Chicago

Another features survivor Judd Ross, who says "Getting vaccinated is the only thing that'll bring us back to normal."

In another element of the COVID campaign, Pritzker gave out $10 million in prizes to Illinois residents who agreed to roll up their sleeves to fight the pandemic. 

The Democratic governor's emphasis on shots echoes what's been said in the White House; however, the billboard cannot be substantiated.   

Illinois does not track vaccination status along with COVID infections, so it would have no way of affirming that "99%" of patients are unvaccinated. The claim also strays from the trends reported in Illinois and other states.

For instance, internal reporting by the University of Illinois released in September found of the 350 pandemic cases reported in the first two weeks of the fall semester, 265 were vaccinated individuals. This was the case even though the school's vaccination rate is 80%.

Becky Smith, epidemiologist and associate professor, told WAND-TV that while "the vaccine does protect against infection to some instance," the high rates of infection among the vaccinated were not unexpected. 

Pandemic data reported in other states is consistent with her statement. 

For example, in Vermont, 76% of September coronavirus deaths have represented vaccinated individuals, Gov. Phil Scott said Sunday.

According to the Associated Press, 69.4% of Vermont residents are vaccinated, higher than the U.S. average of 55.5%.

In Massachusetts, 49% of COVID deaths during the week of Sept. 18-25 involved the vaccinated.

A Provincetown, Mass., outbreak further demonstrated a high rate of infection among the vaccinated who numbered 75% of those with COVID. 

On the national level, a recent analysis of Medicare data also found just under 60% of COVID hospitalizations were among the vaccinated. Of those, 80% were over 65 years old.

Pritzker has repeatedly blamed the pandemic on Illinoisans who refuse to take a jab, calling it a "pandemic of the unvaccinated." This is a statement many vaccine advocates have made on the national front. 

“Ninety-nine percent of people who are dying in hospitals with COVID today in the State of Illinois are unvaccinated people, so please, everyone, get vaccinated," he said in State Journal-Register back in July. 

In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stopped collecting COVID data on mild or asymptomatic cases in vaccinated individuals, claiming it would only try to identify serious hospitalizations or deaths.

Pritzker's Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) publishes similarly incomplete data on alleged "statewide COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough" hospitalizations and deaths.

The number of vaccinated Illinois deaths per IDPH was 617 as of Oct. 6. 

Pritzker’s push for vaccination continues as Pfizer scientists said the antibodies created by contracting COVID will provide better protection against reinfection than the vaccines will. 

In addition, other countries have begun limiting the use of the Moderna vaccine after reports of "cardiovascular side effects." 

An Oct. 7 Wall Street Journal article notes several Scandinavian countries are disallowing or advising against the Moderna vaccine in select age groups 30 and below.

The statements come as experts across the country say the nation is rapidly reaching “herd immunity.”

In April 2020 Pritzker refuted the notion of herd immunity.

“[T]he suggestion that we should just let it happen so that the herd immunity occurs faster is an invitation for us to just let people die. And I won't do that. I will not do that,” Pritzker said at the time according to NBC Chicago.