Nearly half the new cases of COVID-19 in Lake County involve people under 18 years of age, and some of the students exposed to the disease must be out of the classroom for as much as 14 days under quarantine, prompting public health officials and educators to urge more vaccinations.
Youngsters between the ages of 5 and 17 accounted for 45.2% of all new cases of COVID-19 in the past week in Lake County, with most of those infected being unvaccinated, contributing to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lake County, along with all other counties in the state, remains at a high risk of spreading the disease as of Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. The county’s average was 159.5 cases per 100,000 residents, up slightly from 157.18 the week before.
Of those new cases, 41.89 per 100,000 broke out among youngsters between the ages of 11 and 18, while 29.66% were in children between ages 5 and 10, according to Lake County health department statistics. Everyone 12 and over is eligible to receive the vaccine, with 67.6% of them inoculated.
Hospitalizations are slightly down in Lake County this week but as of Friday, 89 people, mostly unvaccinated, were being treated at Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan, Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, according to officials there.
Mark Pfister, the executive director of the Lake County health department, said the overwhelming majority of new cases are people who have not been vaccinated. While higher numbers are understandable with school now in session, many are preventable.
Though unvaccinated students may have to quarantine for as much as 14 days, Pfister said vaccinated youngsters do not need to stay out of school at all as long as they do not show any symptoms of the disease.
“The message to all parents is if they want to keep their kids in school, get them vaccinated,” he said. “With the weather getting cooler, people will congregate more indoors. If parents want their kids to participate in sports, they should be vaccinated.”
Pfister said any school which wants to arrange a mobile vaccination clinic from the county can do so by scheduling it with the health department. One is scheduled in North Chicago, and there was recently one at Grayslake North High School.
School officials like Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education President Brandon Ewing said in an email medical evidence of the efficacy of vaccinations is clear making it the best way to make the community safer. As of Tuesday, there were 82 cases in the district since the start of the school year.
“This is why I continually say that getting the vaccine was the right decision for me, and I will always urge those who are eligible to do the same,” Ewing wrote. “The vaccine is an important tool in our fight against COVID.”
John Price, the superintendent of North Chicago School District 187, said since the start of school Aug. 30, approximately 50 students were required to quarantine, though only four cases were reported. He emphasized asymptomatic vaccinated students need not quarantine.
“The vaccine is the best way to keep kids in school and keep you, your families and the community safe,” Price said.
John Ahlgrim, the superintendent of Warren Township High School District 121, said some students have also tested positive for COVID-19 requiring them and classmates in close contact with them to quarantine. He also urges vaccination of teens.
“The best thing a parent can do to keep the kids in school is get them vaccinated,” he said. “Students need full-time, in-person access to their teachers and support network at school to stay engaged, grow academically and maintain social emotional wellness.”
With children age 5 through 11 expected to be vaccine-eligible this fall, Pfister said when the time comes, schools can contact the health department to arrange a mobile vaccination clinic on campus. He does not anticipate supply will be a problem.
“There is no issue with supply or delivery,” he said.
Area hospitals continue to treat patients with serious cases, Pfister said the number of beds in use in intensive care units continues to increase, with the percentage in use once again reaching serious levels.
Hospital officials report as of Friday there were 21 cases at Lake Forest Hospital, 17 at Vista, 33 at Condell and eight at Good Shepherd. Dr. Michael Bauer, the medical director at Lake Forest, said he hears a lot of reasons people decline vaccination.
“We continue to hear a variety of ‘excuses’ ranging from I was going to soon, didn’t get around to it, waiting to see more (because it’s) too new and then those that will just not get it,” Bauer said in an email.
Bauer, Rachel Loberg, the chief nursing officer at Condell, and Marcie Crawford, Vista’s chief nursing officer, all said the increased pressure on their staffs as they deal with COVID and other medical needs can ebb with vaccinations.
“We know that the vaccine is our way out of the pandemic, which is why we are encouraging everyone, ages 12 and older without contraindications, to get the vaccine,” Loberg said in an email.
