Springfield, IL KMOX - A central Illinois youth camp, where vaccinations were not required, is being blamed for Eighty-five teens and one adult staffer contracting Covid 19.
Illinois' public health director Doctor Ngozi Ezike says one unvaccinated adult was hospitalized. The camp failed to check vaccination status and didn't require masks at indoor events.
Ezike says a secondary outbreak at a nearby conference, connected to the camp, infected 11 additional people.
In a news release Ezike says, “the majority of the 85 COVID-19 cases associated with the youth camp are among teens. The perceived risk to children may seem small, but even a mild case of COVID-19 can cause long-term health issues. Additionally, infected youth who may not experience severe illness can still spread the virus to others, including those who are too young to be vaccinated or those who don’t build the strong expected immune response to the vaccine.”
A couple individuals who were at the camp also attended a nearby conference, which resulted in 11 additional cases. At least 70% of those cases were unvaccinated. The vaccines currently authorized in the U.S. have been shown to be effective among individuals who are fully vaccinated, even against the more transmissible and serious variants. Schuyler and Adams counties, where the outbreaks occurred, are seeing approximately 40% of their population fully vaccinated.
IDPH continues to assist local health departments involved in the youth camp and conference outbreaks and is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Specimens are being sought for genomic sequencing to determine if any of the cases were caused by variants.