CHICAGO, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Public health officials of the U.S. midwestern state of Illinois reported 11,524 new COVID-19 cases and 40 related deaths on Thursday, figures not seen since the state's worst surge of the pandemic in fall last year, Chicago Tribune reported on Thursday.
An analysis by Chicago Tribune showed that the surge predominantly came from the unvaccinated. In the most recent week ending Wednesday, those who had not been fully vaccinated were being admitted to hospital with COVID-19 at a rate of 38 per 100,000 residents, higher than the peak of surge in fall 2020, when no one was vaccinated, and the weekly admittance rate topped out at 35 per 100,000 residents.
For those fully vaccinated, the weekly admittance rate hovered between 1 and 4 people per 100,000 residents during both surges since this summer.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strengthened its position on boosters on Monday. Both local and national health leaders are urging all eligible adults to get boosters, in case they offer protection against the new COVID-19 variant Omicron.
More than one in seven Illinoisans have got a COVID-19 booster shot. In all, about 1.9 million Illinois residents have been boosted, up from 1.5 million less than two weeks ago, when the CDC opened boosters to all adults.
Illinois now ranks the 17th in the nation in terms of percentage of all residents who have received boosters, which is nearly 15 percent, according to the CDC. Enditem
