(WBBM NEWSRADIO) —Chicago's top doctor on Tuesday said the city is doing well in its effort to get people vaccinated against COVID-19, but society may never be completely rid of the novel coronavirus.
Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady says about half of eligible Chicagoans are fully vaccinated. Statewide, just under half of all adults have been fully vaccinated.
She said at best, Chicago can look forward to near-herd immunity eventually.
“The basic idea of herd immunity — or population immunity — is just that there are enough people protected against COVID, with the vaccine or natural immunity, that when someone gets COVID it doesn’t have anywhere to spread.”
The number of coronavirus cases in the city continues to fall, Arwady said. Chicago is averaging 256 new cases per day, which is above the benchmark where officials would like to be: under 200.
Still, Arwady said, the city’s daily case rate has dropped 17% in the last week.
Chicago and the state of Illinois is in the process of reopening completely, into Phase 5, with fewer or no restrictions.
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