COVID-19 Chicago 2024: As case surge continues into late summer, health experts urge residents to get vaccinated

CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago continues to see a surge in COVID cases as summer ends.

Health officials say more people are being diagnosed in emergency departments, but new COVID vaccines are arriving in pharmacies.

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Events like the Democratic and Republican national conventions in Chicago and Milwaukee, respectively, are among the large indoor summer gatherings that have taken place during a surge in COVID cases.

“Unfortunately, the DNC took place at the height of the COVID outbreak this summer,” said Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist at UChicago Medicine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between August 11 and 17, 2.5% of emergency room patients were diagnosed with COVID-19.

This is an increase from 1.7% recorded in the same period in July.

Chicago is seeing a similar increase.

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“It turns out that if you had a respiratory virus in the last month, it was probably COVID, whether you got tested or not. That also means we’ve seen more patients in the hospital, more patients getting sick,” Landon said.

“With a lot of travel related to summer events, it’s an opportunity for viral illnesses to spread,” said Alexander Sloboda, medical director of immunization and emergency preparedness programs for the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Over the weekend, CVS Pharmacies began receiving the new updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine intended to prevent complications and serious illness.

Patients can make an appointment or walk-in to get their COVID vaccine at their local CVS location.

Health experts are urging Chicagoans to take advantage of the new vaccine, if they haven’t had COVID recently.

“We encourage everyone, anyone over 6 months old,” Sloboda said.

“If you didn’t get COVID this summer, there’s still a lot of COVID out there. And half the people, we’re at the peak, so half the people who are going to get COVID in this surge still haven’t gotten COVID. So you probably need to take precautions, be a little more careful,” Landon said.

Tracking COVID-19 cases is complicated by the fact that many people are testing at home and their health conditions do not require emergency care. Therefore, they are not being reported.

Health experts recommend that you stay home if you have a respiratory illness and, when you return to your activities, wear a mask if you have symptoms.