Illinois leaders urge vaccinations as hospitalizations continue to surge

CHICAGO (WREX) �� Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and other top health officials are continuing to urge vaccinations to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

The plea came Monday afternoon during a news conference in Chicago.

Despite administering more than 19 million doses of the vaccines so far, leaders say the first few weeks of January will go a long way.

"We must approach the first few weeks of January with caution," Gov. JB Pritzker said.

This comes after a December in which the number of people in the hospital with the virus more than doubled.

As of Dec. 2, there were 2,582 people across the state in the hospital, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Of those, 534 patients were in the ICU and 221 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

As of Dec. 29, there were 5,689 people in the hospital with COVID-19, IDPH says. Of those, 1,010 patients were in the ICU and 565 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

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As of Monday, Jan. 3, 6,294 people are in the hospital with the virus. 1,086 of those patients are in the ICU and 652 on ventilators.

During Monday's news conference, Gov. Pritzker said the bulk of patients in the hospital are unvaccinated.

Unvaccinated patients filling up 85% of hospital beds, 95% of ICU beds and nearly 100% of ventilators, according to Gov. Pritzker.

COVID-19 hospitalizations higher than they were last time of this year. An average of 550 people are being admitted each day with COVID-19, according to Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Dr. Ezike says of those 550 people being admitted each day, 90% are not vaccinated.

It's not just adults being admitted to the hospital, either. Gov. Pritzker says the number of children entering hospitals with the virus has nearly tripled since the beginning of December, a cause for concern for the governor.

"I fear the climb in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 will only grow, especially for children younger than 5 who cannot be vaccinated," Gov. Pritzker said.

Gov. Pritzker, Dr. Ezike and hospital leaders from the Chicagoland area all stressed the importance of vaccines during the news conference.

"Your chances of getting and transmitting COVID-19 are greatly decreased with a vaccine," Dr. Ezike said while appearing virtually during the news conference. Gov. Pritzker says Dr. Ezike was exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus and appeared virtual out of an "abundance of caution."

Dr. Ezike says while more than 81% of Illinoisans 12+ have received at least one dose of the vaccine, there's still too many people who are not vaccinated.

"People are not taking advantage of something that could save their life," Dr. Ngozi Ezike, said. "Vaccines are truly saving lives. It's that simple."

Last week, Gov. Pritzker announced the state is increasing the number of mobile vaccine sites.

On Monday, the City of Chicago started requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccine for indoor venues starting Monday.

That includes restaurants, bars, gyms and other indoor venues like sport entertainment arenas.

The rules apply to everyone age 5 and older, but doesn't apply to those in the venue less than 10 minutes, like those getting takeout.

When asked if this is something being considered statewide, Gov. Pritzker did not provide a definite "yes" or "no" answer, but said "I encourage local leaders to do what's right in their communities...every community is different. Some counties have very few restaurants and their quite far apart of one another."

The governor says it would be unfair for those counties to be under the same rules as Chicago.

"We need leaders locally to step up and do the right thing for their communities," Pritzker said.