Public health officials warn of rise in COVID-19 cases across Illinois
COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Illinois, according to public health officials.
While data from the middle of August indicated all 102 Illinois counties remained at a low level for COVID-19 hospital admissions, wastewater surveillance is detecting rising COVID-19 activity, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“We are fortunate that the vast majority of Illinoisans have received immunity from a COVID-19 vaccine or previous infection that protects them against severe disease," said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. "However, COVID-19 continues to pose a risk for our seniors, individuals with chronic medical conditions, and those who are immunocompromised."
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Vohra said the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System shows moderate COVID activity in all of the state's sampling regions. The system is designed to monitor for levels of COVID-19, flu, and RSV viruses in wastewater at 79 locations across Illinois.
Dr. Vidya Sundareshan, chief of the Southern Illinois University of Medicine’s infectious diseases division, said while the uptick is nothing compared to what it was in January 2020, she has seen a wave of cases in the Springfield area.
“The numbers that are tracked for the community diagnosis have gone up, cases seen in urgent care have gone up, and the number of admissions, which were down to single digits for a long time, have increased.”
Dr. Sundareshan advises that people who are immunocompromised or have other high-risk factors stay up to date on vaccines and get the COVID-19 medication.
Illinois has more than 200,000 courses of effective therapeutic medications, including Paxlovid and Molnupiravir, available through providers and pharmacies that are provided free of charge until supplies run out, IDPH said in a press release.
“Take those medications early, make sure you're vaccinated, and if you have high-risk factors, make sure to take care with hand washing and masking to protect yourself. These things have worked in the past,” Dr. Sundarshan said.
For people with low-risk factors, Dr. Sundareshan said the decision to put on a mask or not depends on comfort level. But if going to a crowded area, she suggests masking up.
“We’re in the fall and winter months so cases of the flu, RSV, and COVID are going to be up,” she said. “We just want to make sure we don’t get into the issue of a "tripledemic" like we did in the past.”
Dr. Sundareshan said tracking the numbers has been difficult because many COVID deaths have been home-based lately so some cases don’t get reported.
“If there’s any falseness to any of this info it's probably that we’re underestimating it,” she said.
The CDC is expected to issue guidance in September about the newly developed COVID-19 boosters. It also launched the Bridge Access Program that will cover the cost of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments for uninsured and underinsured adults this fall.
The program will cover the new annual COVID-19 shot when it is rolled out. People who experience COVID symptoms can access no-cost-share telehealth services through the SIU School of Medicine Covid Test to Treat services or call (217) 545-5100.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois public health officials warn of rising COVID-19 cases
