CHICAGO, Ill. – The risk of COVID-19 spread in Illinois is up slightly from a week ago.
The Illinois Department of Public Health says 12 counties are at medium level of risk of spreading the virus. That’s compared to nine counties the week prior.
But there are no counties at a high risk, compared to one last week.
The department is also reporting 8,560 new confirmed and probable COVID cases in the state in the last week, with 39 deaths.
IDPH Director Sameer Vohra says he’s welcoming an FDA authorization this week for a bivalent booster shot for children aged 6 months to 4 years old, provided they completed their primary vaccinations with Pfizer’s monovalent vaccine more than two months ago.
“This recommendation now means that all children in this age group are eligible to receive an updated vaccine. Vaccines remain the best protection to prevent serious illness from COVID-19, and these updated shots are formulated to protect against some of the more recently circulating strains of the disease. I recommend that parents speak with the children’s health care provider to ensure that their child is up to date on their COVID-19 and other vaccines,” Vohra said.
