Health officials urge COVID-19 boosters as cases, hospitalizations rise

Illinois health leaders on Friday called for a higher uptake of COVID-19 boosters among residents, as cases and hospitalizations continue rising.

“As the weather is getting colder and Halloween is nearly upon us, Illinois and much of the nation are seeing a notable increase in individuals getting sick from respiratory viruses, including the flu, RSV and once again COVID-19,” Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement. “This uptick makes it critically important for everyone to use the tools that are available to protect yourself and your family.”

Just over 26,000 doses of the new bivalent vaccines were administered daily over the past week.

The Chicago Department of Public Health said more than 273,000 booster doses were administered to Chicagoans as of Oct. 25. Of those, 57 percent went to white residents, 17 percent to Black residents, 14 percent to Latinx residents and 8 percent to Asian residents.

Nearly 15 percent of eligible Chicagoans have received the updated vaccine so far.

CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady told reporters Friday that progress has been made in administering boosters to Chicagoans, but she remains concerned about winter surges of COVID-19 and flu.

“COVID has been like flu, (in) that it continues to mutate, it continues to change and spikes,” she said. “It continues to change its ability to infect us. And although we are all very tired of COVID, me included, COVID is not tired of us. We have continued to be a good host, and this virus just wants to replicate.”

There were 13,642 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Illinois last week, a 14.1 percent increase from the prior week. There were 67 deaths reported last week.

The new cases bring the state’s total to 3,809,680. There have been 35,235 deaths.

The seven-day average for new cases on Friday was 1,949, up 241 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths was 10, up four from the prior week.

The seven-day rolling average case rate per 100,000 people is 15.3, up 1.9 from the prior week.

As of Thursday, 1,080 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, down 73 from Wednesday and up 20 from the prior week.

Five counties at a “high” community level of COVID-19, the level at which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people mask indoors in public spaces. Thirty-three counties are at a “medium” risk level.