COVID-19 case averages up 18% in a week, hospitalizations up 4% with more unvaccinated patients
Average daily COVID-19 infections have grown by 18.7% in November compared to late October, Illinois Department of Public Health data showed Monday.
From Nov. 1 through Monday, new infections came to 2,535 a day, in contrast with 2,135 daily COVID-19 cases between Oct. 24 and 31.
Average hospitalizations also notched up by about 4%, state records indicate. Patients in Illinois hospitals reached nearly 1,288 a day between Nov. 1 and Sunday but were 1,237 on average the last seven days of October.
Illinois hospitals were treating 1,314 COVID-19 patients Sunday night, with the majority of them unvaccinated.
"About one in four of our COVID-19 patients are vaccinated," said Dr. Jonathan Pinsky, Edward Hospital's medical director of infection control and prevention.
Most of the breakthrough patients at Edward are seniors with a median age of 74 who might be frail and need hospital care to ensure they recover, he said.
The remaining three-quarters of COVID-19 admissions are unvaccinated patients with a median age of 48 and generally require respiratory support such as ventilators, Pinsky said.
At Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, cases of COVID-19 are down compared to the summer, but "we still continue to get really sick children," said Dr. Larry K. Kociolek, medical director of infection prevention and control.
Many of the children treated for COVID-19 at Lurie have medical issues that include obesity, a common problem in pediatric populations, Kociolek said.
A week ago on Nov. 2, the federal government authorized use of Pfizer's COVID-19 shot for children ages 5 to 11.
There has been a steady stream of children ages 5 to 11 at vaccination clinics, Chicago and suburban officials said.
At Lurie, 1,200 shots were given over the weekend with "zero adverse reactions," Kociolek said. Lurie is using music, arts and crafts, and pain-numbing spray "to make a more comfortable and less anxiety-provoking experience," he said.
Meanwhile at Duly Health and Care, "300 doses in our initial supply have been administered, without any reports of adverse reaction, and 900 additional doses are currently scheduled to be administered. Another 2,000 doses have been ordered," spokeswoman Lisa Lagger said.
New cases of COVID-19 totaled 7,359 over the weekend with 38 more deaths from the respiratory disease, the state reported.
From Friday to Sunday, 184,956 more COVID-19 shots were administered. The seven-day average is 52,987.
The state's positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 2.2% based on a seven-day average.
So far, 7,342,915 people in the state have been fully vaccinated, or 57.6% of Illinois' 12.7 million population.
Illinois reported 2,964 new cases Saturday, 2,335 Sunday and 2,060 on Monday. Deaths from COVID-19 totaled 17 on Saturday, 13 on Sunday and eight on Monday. The IDPH does not update COVID-19 data over the weekend.
The federal government has delivered 19,046,555 doses of vaccine to Illinois since distribution began in mid-December, and 16,096,433 shots have been administered.
Total cases statewide stand at 1,720,345, and 25,986 Illinoisans have died since the pandemic began.
Pinsky urged Illinoisans who haven't been vaccinated against COVID-19 to get a shot. "Your chances of getting hospitalized with COVID-19 are 10 to 20 times greater than if you're not vaccinated," he said.