The Chicago Department of Public Health is trying to help people get vaccinated through one of its last city college clinics, with COVID cases on the rise in nearly half of the state's counties.
Chicago-area residents are certainly noticing that cases of COVID-19 and R.S.V are popping up, and doctors say they're feeling the impacts in clinics and hospitals too.
“It’s definitely spreading like wildfire all throughout,” said Dr. Juanita Mora, national spokesperson for the American Lung Association.
Mora added that vaccines are still the first line of defense, with the shots available for COVID, RSV and a flu shot.
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“Making sure everyone in the family, 6 months and older has received a flu shot," Dr. Mora said. "A Covid-19 vaccine, remember this is going to be an annual vaccine...”
Mora says that residents should be staying home when they’re sick, washing their hands more often and ventilating spaces where gatherings are taking place.
“We make sure that a window gets open, that the air purifiers are on as well, so that way we keep the ventilation going on," she said.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are monitoring COVID hospitalizations.
The data for the week ending on Nov. 25 stated there are 39 counties in Illinois at a medium level of hospitalizations, and five counties at a high level.
That is a 20% increase from the previous week, according to the C.D.C.
The closest to Chicago at the medium threshold is Kankakee County, while all other counties in the region are still at "low" levels.
In order to prepare for a possible uptick, the Illinois Department of Public Health launched its own respiratory disease dashboard, but the simplest ways to stay safe are still the ones that carried through the pandemic.
“Make sure to mask up on the train, on the plane, etcetera, so that way when you get home and you kiss Grandma, you’ll be infection free," Mora said.
