CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The city’s public health commissioner is hoping for the best, but is expressing concern about a possible surge in cases in COVID-19 this winter.
Dr. Allison Arwady said vaccination rates in Chicago have crossed a positive threshold; adding that every zip code in the city now has more than 50 percent of its eligible population vaccinated against COVID-19. And while she said that’s still not enough, she called it a positive sign.
But at the same time, Dr. Arwady said it would be prudent for the city to be ready for another surge in cases of the coronavirus this fall and winter.
"There are questions though, as we move more into this fall and winter more typical viral season and we move indoors, whether we may see parts of the country, including in the Chicago area, have more issues related to that," Dr. Arwady said.
Though, she said, the city’s short term outlook appears promising.
"The vaccine has changed the conversation around COVID. Before the vaccine, those huge spikes we were seeing, I don’t anticipate seeing those again, unless we see the virus mutate to a point where the vaccine is not effective. But, assuming that happens, the more we can get people vaccinated, the better off we’re going to be," Dr. Arwady said.
Meanwhile, the State of Illinois reported Wednesday 3,561 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 39 COVID- related deaths, edging the state’s total COVID deaths towards the 25,000 mark. As of Tuesday, 2,028 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 494 patients were in the ICU and 262 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
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