COVID Infecting More Kids than Ever in Illinois
Amelia Ateca, 6, of Chicago holds her dad's hand as she gets her COVID-19 shot at Advocate Children's Hospital in Park Ridge. She has had COVID-19 and severe inflammatory symptoms in May 2020 and was on a ventilator for a week. (Photo credit: Daily Herald)
20 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois children between the ages of 5-11 are being infected at the highest levels yet.
More from the Daily Herald:
Illinois children between the ages of 5 and 11 are now averaging 566 new COVID-19 cases a day over the past week.
That's the highest infection rate for that age group since the start of the pandemic, Illinois Department of Public Health records show.
The previous high for that age group's seven-day average number of new cases was Sept. 4 at 552 a day during that preceding week.
Children between the ages of 5 and 11 became eligible for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine earlier this month. So far, 137,204 Illinois children -- 74,269 who live in the suburbs -- have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to IDPH records.
That amounts to 12.4% of that age group's population statewide.
Hopefully the vaccination rate among kids performs better than with adults.