COVID-19 deaths in Illinois see uptick as state encourages more people to get booster shots now

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced the number of counties at “high” and “medium” risk have increased for the second straight week, and urged residents to get their updated booster shots now.

The state now has five counties at “high” risk: Ogle and Stephenson counties in northwest Illinois; Ford and Vermillion counties in east-central Illinois; and Pike County in western Illinois. There now are 33 counties at “medium” risk, up from 26 last week.

In counties at the Medium Community Level, persons who are elderly or immunocompromised (at risk of severe outcomes) are advised to wear a mask in indoor public places. They also should get up to date on COVID-19 vaccines or get their bivalent booster, if eligible.

“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,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a news release. “This uptick makes it critically important for everyone to use the tools that are available to protect yourself and your family. Vaccines remain the most powerful tool to prevent serious illness. If you have not gotten the COVID-19 booster and a flu shot for yourself and your eligible children, now is a great time. I recommend everyone in Illinois get fully protected. And if you are feeling sick, please stay home, get tested, and call your doctor for help. I encourage all Illinoisians to do all they can to stay safe and healthy as the holiday season approaches.”

The IDPH announced 3,449 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and nine additional deaths for Thursday.

As of late Thursday, Illinois had 1,080 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Of those, 129 were in intensive care units, and 48 were on ventilators.

For Thursday, the state administered 32,488 vaccines.

Case rate per 100,000: 13.6 (up 0.2 from Thursday)

Percentage of ICU beds available: 17%

COVID-19-diagnosed hospital admissions (seven-day rolling average): 101 (up 8 from Thursday)

Weekly deaths reported: 67 (up 24 from last Friday’s update)

Illinois has seen 3,809,680 total cases of the virus, and 35,235 people have died.

County-by-county update: As of mid-April, the IDPH will provide a county-by-county update focusing on the case rate per 100,000 people, the percentage of ICU beds available, a rolling seven-day average of COVID-19-diagnosed hospital admissions and weekly deaths.

The definition of a COVID-19-diagnosed hospital admission is as follows: the seven-day average of daily number of hospital admissions given a diagnosis of COVID-19 as measured using the Illinois Syndromic Surveillance System.

Illinois collects all emergency department and inpatient visits through syndromic surveillance from all acute care hospitals in Illinois in near-real time. Data is presented with a three-day lag to allow time for diagnosis to be reported.

Vaccine update: As of Friday, the IDPH reported a total of 29,644,975 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 24,661,690 vaccines administered.

As of Friday, 8,389,410 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 65.85% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,889,446 (74.5%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,831,556 (82.4%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,447,062 (77.9%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,332,111 (86.1%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,794,185 (79.1%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,617,248 (87.4%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,852,588 (90.7%)

At Least 1 Dose: 2,003,274 (95%)

There can be as much as a 72-hour delay in reporting from health care providers on vaccines administered.

In northern Illinois, here is the percentage of the population fully vaccinated by county:

Chicago: 69.37%

Suburban Cook: 73.49%

Lake: 71.27%

McHenry: 66.53%

DuPage: 76.20%

Kane: 67.04%

Will: 67.35%

Kendall: 70.34%

La Salle: 58.82%

Grundy: 58.22%

DeKalb: 56.93%

Ogle: 57.33%

Lee: 59.25%

Whiteside: 52.17%

Bureau: 57.17%