Ring in the new year with vaccines, experts urge as COVID-19, flu cases rise in Cook County

Cook County residents should resolve to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza — and they shouldn’t wait until the new year to do it, experts say.

Flu cases especially are sending more people to hospitals as winter temperatures plummet, families gather for the holidays and another brutal season of respiratory illness bears down on Chicago, according to Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer at the Cook County Department of Public Health.

“What we’re seeing spreading the fastest is influenza, but both COVID and flu cases are increasing,” Rubin said Thursday. “Flu is beginning to overtake COVID for emergency room visits.”

Add in a seasonal uptick in RSV — another respiratory virus packing a serious punch for vulnerable populations — and thousands of Illinoisans are facing a miserable start to 2024.

Although upward of 40% of eligible residents have gotten a flu shot, only about 12% in Cook County have raised a sleeve for the latest COVID-19 booster that was rolled out in September — an “abysmally low” rate, Rubin lamented.

“People need to get vaccinated. It doesn’t prevent all cases, but it prevents you from getting serious illness and ending up in the hospital,” Rubin said.

And perhaps most importantly, experts urge residents to get those COVID-19 and flu vaccines, which can be administered at the same time.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,225 new COVID-19 hospitalizations in the week ending Dec. 14, a 22% jump from the previous week.

Chicago hospitals were admitting about 30 COVID-19 patients per day as of Christmas Eve, a 13% rise from the previous week, according to the city’s Department of Public Health. Cases have jumped 40% across Cook County since the beginning of November.

Half of all Illinois counties are at a medium or high level of COVID-19 hospitalizations under metrics set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. None of those counties is in the metro area, but Rubin said she anticipates Cook County soon will hit an elevated level.

Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra has advised hospitals to reinstate masking policies in areas with higher transmission, which, for now, are mostly in the southern and central parts of the state.

“With the alarming rise in respiratory viruses we are seeing across the state and the country, IDPH is recommending health care facilities take precautions to reduce the spread of these viruses and protect their patients, staffs and visitors,” Vohra said in a statement.

While COVID-19 and RSV hospital admissions are showing signs of plateauing statewide, flu admissions are still trending upward, state data shows.

And while specific Cook County data on flu cases wasn’t readily available, the same pattern is playing out at the county level, Rubin said — all the more reason to ring in the new year with the pandemic habits of old.

“Think about wearing a mask at your New Year’s gatherings. Wash your hands. Take a COVID test, and stay at home if you feel sick,” Rubin advised.

The situation still isn’t anywhere near as bad as it was earlier in the pandemic, or even this time last year, but Rubin called masking “the prudent thing to do” in crowded grocery stores and anywhere else you might end up breathing on other people. “It’s to protect others who might be more vulnerable to severe complications.”

More than 41,000 Illinoisans have died of COVID-19 since March 2020.

COVID-19 and flu shots are recommended for everyone 6 months old or older.

RSV vaccines are also available for people 60 or older, as well as infants, young children and pregnant women.

For help finding a shot, visit boostupcookcounty.com.