ELKVILLE, Ill (WSIL) -- For those vaccinated, COVID cases are relatively low. But for those who are not vaccinated, health departments are seeing a jump in positive cases.
"We do know that across the entire country, places with low vaccination rates are starting to see a spike in both confirmed cases, and hospitalizations," said Arien Herrmann, from region 5 of the Regional Hospital Coordinating Center.
So far, the vaccine has proved to be effective against the Delta variant, but the numbers who are getting the vaccine are continuing to drop.
"Once March hit, we'd vaccinated over 5700 people. Since then, each month that number has halved," said Herrmann.
The Jackson County Health Department has hosted vaccine clinics at high school's across the county, and turnout has been consistent.
"We're about on par with what we've seen at both Carbondale and Murphysboro high schools," said Herrmann.
But for those who are worried about the Delta variant, consider talking to your health care professional about getting vaccinated.
"We've seen very few breakthrough infections among people that have been vaccinated, even with the Delta variant. But the Delta variant so far does seem to be far more contagious and than earlier strains. So for people that aren't vaccinated, they should definitely continue to wear masks," said Herrmann.
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