COVID-19 hospitalizations over 1,300 for first time since February

For the first time since February, COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois have climbed above 1,300 patients.

According to Illinois Department of Public Health records released Friday, there were 1,309 patients being treated for the respiratory disease in hospitals throughout the state.

In the past week, COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen 13.4% in Illinois.

Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 149 were in intensive care, IDPH figures show. That's 27 more in ICU beds than a week ago.

“With 71 counties in Illinois rated at medium or high community level for COVID-19 by the (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the majority of counties remain at elevated risk,” said Amaal Tokars, the acting director of IDPH. “We urge everyone to protect themselves by making sure they are up-to-date with vaccines and booster shots. This is especially important for people who are vulnerable to serious medical outcomes.”

In the suburbs, DuPage and Lake counties are listed at high community levels, while the suburban portion of Cook County along with McHenry and Will counties are at medium. Kane County is listed at low.

High community level counties mean they are seeing more than 200 new cases a week for every 100,000 residents and hospital admissions are climbing as well.

Since last week, the state has recorded 48 more COVID-19 deaths and 27,543 new infections. That brings the state's death toll from the virus to 34,198, while 3,462,948 total cases have been diagnosed in Illinois since the outset of the pandemic in March 2020.

The CDC is reporting 69.1% of the state's roughly 12.8 million residents have been fully vaccinated. However, vaccine providers are issuing new vaccines that are aimed to combat the more highly transmissible variants.

Of those fully vaccinated in Illinois, 53.6% have received a booster dose. And of those eligible for a second booster shot, 30.1% have received one. Only 13 other states have a higher uptake of the second booster dose than Illinois, CDC records show.

IDPH officials said 20,523 children under the age of 5, the newest vaccine-eligible age group, have received their first doses. That's less than 3% of the population of that age group, however.

The CDC has yet to begin tracking vaccination data for that age group nationally.