Illinois reports 26,462 new COVID cases, 123 deaths in past week

Doctors push for children to get vaccinated for COVID-19 ahead of school year

Dr. Michelle Barron from UC-Health talks about the importance of young students getting vaccinated before returning to classes this fall.

Illinois public health officials reported 26,462 new cases of COVID-19 in the state, including 123 deaths since last Friday.

The Illinois Department of Public Health is reporting a total of 3,620,877 cases, including 34,539 deaths, in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic.

As of Thursday night, 1,471 individuals in Illinois were in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 181 patients were in the ICU, and 67 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators, health officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions said 42 Illinois counties are rated at "High Community Level" for COVID-19 — which includes counties around the Chicago and Rockford area.

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Those counties include: Adams, Calhoun, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Henderson, Jackson, Johnson, Kane, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Marion, Mason, Massac, Monroe, Ogle, Perry, Pike, Randolph, St. Clair, Stephenson, Vermilion, Warren, Whiteside, Will, Williamson, and Winnebago.

An additional 48 counties in Illinois are rated at "Medium Community Level," health officials said.

A total of 23,114,591 vaccines have been administered in Illinois, health officials said. More than 77% of Illinois residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while more than 69% have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. More than 54% of the vaccinated population has an initial booster.

Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.

To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.