518 Illinois residents have been hospitalized with COVID despite being fully vaxd Most had underlyin [View all]

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518 Illinois residents have been hospitalized with COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated. Most had underlying conditions, state data shows.

More than 500 Illinois residents, most of whom are older and have underlying health conditions, have been hospitalized because of COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated, according to data from the state health department.

But experts say the chances of getting a so-called breakthrough infection remain very low. In all, about 5.9 million Illinois residents are fully vaccinated.

“Right now, they are still very rare,” Dr. Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo, a COVID-19 scientist and researcher at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said of breakthrough infections. Even with the new delta variants, the protection rate offered by vaccines continues to be high, he said.

Of the 518 people who had been hospitalized as of Wednesday, 33% had diabetes, 22% had chronic kidney disease, 22% had immunocompromised conditions, 4% had autoimmune diseases and 3% had chronic liver disease, according data that had not been released by the state health department before this week.

The bulk of the patients — 83% — were age 60 and older. Just over 70% of the patients were white and 17% were Black.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/vaccine/ct-prem-coronavirus-vaccine-illinois-breakthrough-covid-infections-20210708-wlimouy7vrczxmelhbdgygwlqi-story.html