Though Lake County remains in the high risk category, the number of new cases of COVID-19 is approximately a quarter of what they were a year ago.
Local health officials say that decline is thanks in large part to the vaccine.
“It was four times higher without the vaccine,” said Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister. “The major difference is the vaccine. Most of the new cases and hospitalizations are people who were not vaccinated.”
The county experienced a 10.35% increase of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the past week but also crossed the 80% threshold of vaccinated residents with 80.1% of those eligible for vaccination receiving their shots.
There were 130.07 new cases per 100,000 residents on a seven-day rolling average as of Friday, up from 114.42 the week before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Of Illinois’ 102 counties, 87 are at high risk for spreading the disease including all in the Chicago area, according to the CDC website. Suburban Cook County had 110.73 new cases per 100,000 residents, McHenry had 186.03 and Kenosha County in Wisconsin had 237.08.
Though 80.1% of those eligible to receive the vaccine have, Pfister said the latest statistics do not include the approximately 56,000 children 5 through 11 who became eligible Nov. 3. Of those, 9.9% already received their first dose, he said.
“This is a really good showing in such a short time,” Pfister said. “These are great numbers. We know the first few days everyone was getting geared up. We have plenty of vaccine.”
Though supply of vaccine was short in the spring when there was a rush of adults looking to receive their shots, Pfister said it is not an issue for the children because Pfizer manufactured enough as it was awaiting government approval.
While the county is delivering vaccines to pediatricians’ offices and other partners, Pfister said pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS and Jewel-Osco receive their own supply. If they are not giving children shots yet, they will be administering them soon.
Jill Edgeworth, a media relations manager for Northwestern Medicine, said many of their patients are bringing their children to the doctor for a COVID-19 shot. Some parents, however, are making the choice to not vaccinate their children.
“We do advise them that choosing to not vaccinate is not without risk and that the benefits of vaccinating far outweigh any potential risk,” she said in an email.
Advocate Aurora Health is also gearing up to vaccinate pediatric patients. In a statement, Advocate said parents can now schedule an appointment for their youngsters.
“We are excited to begin vaccinating our pediatric patients as it’s a significant step toward preventing severe illness and death,” Advocate said in its statement. “Vaccinating more of our populations will help bring an end to this pandemic and a return to normal life.”
Lake County is currently the second most vaccinated county in the state among people eligible for the shot. DuPage is first at 80.6% while suburban Cook County is 74.2% vaccinated, McHenry 70.1% and Kenosha 62.1%.
Pfister said the greatest number of new cases in the county arise in the 5 through 10 age group followed by those 11 through 13. Getting those children vaccinated now that they are eligible will go a long way toward helping contain the spread of the virus.
Despite the growing number of vaccinations, local hospital officials said there are 44 patients with COVID-19 between Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
Of those patients, 11 are at Lake Forest, 18 at Condell and 15 at Good Shepherd. The vast majority are not vaccinated.
