As late summer COVID surge continues, Chicago health experts urge residents get new vaccine

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago is continuing to see a late-summer surge in COVID cases.

Health leaders say more people are being diagnosed in emergency rooms, but new COVID vaccines are coming to pharmacies.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Events like the Democratic and Republican national conventions in Chicago and Milwaukee, respectively, are among the large indoor summer gatherings that have occurred during an uptick in COVID cases.

"Unfortunately, the DNC happened at the peak of this summer's COVID outbreak," said Dr. Emily Landon, a UChicago Medicine infectious disease specialist.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between Aug. 11 and 17, 2.5% of emergency room patients were diagnosed as having COVID-19.

That's up from 1.7% around the same time period in July.

Chicago is seeing a similar increase.

SEE ALSO: Free at-home COVID-19 tests will be available again, HHS officials say

"It turns out, if you had a respiratory virus in the last month or so, it was probably COVID, whether or not you took a test for it. That also means we've been seeing more patients in the hospital, more patients getting sick," Landon said.

"With lots of travel going on to summer events. It's an opportunity for viral illness to spread," said Alexander Sloboda, Chicago Department of Public Health medical director of immunization and emergency preparedness programs.

Over the weekend, CVS pharmacies began getting the new updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine meant to prevent complications and serious illness.

Patients can make appointments or walk in for COVID vaccines at their local CVS.

Health experts urge Chicagoans to take advantage of the new vaccine, if they have not had COVID recently.

"We encourage all, anyone over 6 months," Sloboda said.

"If you haven't had COVID this summer, there is still a lot of COVID. And half the people, we are right at the peak, then half the people that are going to get COVID in this wave still haven't gotten COVID. So, you probably want to take precautions; be a little bit extra careful," Landon said.

The challenge in tracking cases of COVID is that so many people are taking tests at-home, and their illnesses do not rise to the level of the need for emergency care. Therefore, they are not reported.

Health experts urge you to stay home if you have a respiratory illness, and, when you return to your activities, wear a mask if you are having any symptoms.