Champaign, Lake counties have the highest child vaccination rates in Illinois
CHICAGO - It's been more than a month since the CDC gave the green light for the COVID vaccine to be administered to five to 11-year-olds.
In Illinois, about two of every ten kids have gotten at least the first dose.
Champaign County actually has the highest child vaccination rate so far at 32 percent. Lake County is just behind it.
But other states are further behind.
In Florida, less than 10 percent of kids in that age group have gotten vaccinated.
Doctors say while kids are less likely to get badly sick from COVID, that doesn't mean it can't happen.
"Fortunately not a lot of them are getting terribly ill. But in our own hospital we’ve had kids in our intensive care unit and I’ve had the unfortunate experience of watching one child die with COVID-19," said Dr. Kenneth Alexander, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Nemours Children's Hospital.
Doctors are encouraging everyone to get vaccinated if they haven't, especially before Christmas to try to cut down on the spread.