Secondary COVID-19 outbreak linked to central Illinois youth camp outbreak

A previously reported youth camp COVID-19 outbreak in central Illinois has been linked to an additional outbreak at a nearby conference, the Illinois Department Public of Health reported Monday.

The IDPH now is reporting 85 teens and adult staff at a summer youth camp held in mid-June in central Illinois tested positive for COVID-19. One unvaccinated, young adult was hospitalized.

Although all campers and staff were eligible for vaccination, the IDPH is aware of only a handful of campers and staff receiving the vaccine, according to a news release from the IDPH. The camp was not checking vaccination status and masking was not required while indoors.

A couple individuals who were at the camp also attended a nearby conference, which resulted in 11 additional cases, according to an IDPH news release. At least 70% of those cases were unvaccinated. The vaccines currently authorized in the U.S. have been shown to be effective among individuals who are fully vaccinated, even against the more transmissible and serious variants. Schuyler and Adams counties, where the outbreaks occurred, are seeing about 40% of their population fully vaccinated.

“The majority of the 85 COVID-19 cases associated with the youth camp are among teens,” IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a news release. “The perceived risk to children may seem small, but even a mild case of COVID-19 can cause long-term health issues. Additionally, infected youth who may not experience severe illness can still spread the virus to others, including those who are too young to be vaccinated or those who don’t build the strong expected immune response to the vaccine.”