Kane County health officials encouraged by improving COVID-19 hospitalization numbers

COVID-19 cases are rising again in Kane County, but the number of people hospitalized by the infection is falling. That's spawning an optimistic view of the impact of the new BA.2 strain and the efficacy of vaccinations among local health officials.

Kane County remains in "low transmission" status despite a 30% increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the last week, said Uche Onwuta, the county's director of health protection. The actual number of infections is likely higher as more people test at home instead of at local clinics to determine their COVID-19 status.

But Onwuta told the county board's public health committee Wednesday she's encouraged by the shrinking number of people hospitalized as the BA.2 strain takes hold as the dominant local strain. Hospital admissions are down by more than half from March. Fewer than 10 people have died from COVID-19 in that same 30 days.

"Does that reflect that the latest variant, while highly contagious, doesn't appear to be nearly as serious as prior strains?" asked committee member Ken Shepro.

"So far, that's what we're seeing," Onwuta replied. "But we are not comparing apples and apples because more people are vaccinated now. What we are seeing is the effect of the vaccines. This is the early stage of the new variant. It takes some time before people go to the hospital. But if you're vaccinated, you don't go to the hospital."

Health officials also recognized few people are following the latest Centers for Disease Control recommendations that advise a second booster shot for people 50 and older. That ties into the minimal growth in people getting new vaccines overall. Locally, 71.7% of Kane County residents five years of age and older are now vaccinated. That's up only 0.7% from last month.