Medical experts say younger people are driving a surge in virus cases in Kane County

“We still need to get our younger residents fully vaccinated and encourage them to be careful until we can knock back this current surge,” assistant director of community health says

Local health officials are now calling the continuing increase in new COVID-19 cases in Kane County a “surge.”

More than 200 new cases were reported in the county on Friday, which is the highest number of new cases reported in a 24-hour period in several weeks. Cases had been steadily falling after last fall’s dramatic surge that saw test positivity rates as high as 18% on Nov. 14, 2020 to a low of 3.8% on March 13, 2021. Kane County’s test positivity rate as of Friday was 8.4%.

“Cases are much higher now, and hospitalizations are up at [Northwestern Medicine] Delnor [Hospital] and across the state,” said Dr. Jay Liu, infectious disease physician at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital. “People are being too lax and not obeying social distancing recommendations. Personally, I’m seeing more COVID patients, and it seems like younger people are getting it, but I don’t know the exact numbers.”

Michael Isaacson, assistant director of community health, echoed Liu’s assessment, calling the increase a “troubling surge.”

“Test positivity has risen from 3.6% to over 8% over the past month and hospitalizations have steadily increased. Even with a successful vaccination campaign underway, too many people are abandoning precautionary efforts, such as wearing a mask and practicing social distancing,” he said.

Isaacson explained that residents in their 20s are the age group with the most new cases, with teenagers and adults in their 30s and 40s “not far behind.” More than 75% of Kane County’s senior citizens have been fully vaccinated, so cases in that population are dropping, he said.

“We still need to get our younger residents fully vaccinated and encourage them to be careful until we can knock back this current surge,” he explained. “If people want to see their friends and family, I encourage them to make it as safe as possible. Visit outside, sit further apart and don’t invite a big crowd. Every choice makes a difference.”

Liu said that the number of deaths from the virus have been decreasing, but he explained that deaths are a “lagging indicator.”

Isaacson also said that the number of deaths could increase in coming weeks if “we do not contain this surge.”

“We are seeing younger people getting sick and some are not as serious, but with hospitalizations rising so quickly, we do worry that an increase in deaths could occur,” he said.

The Illinois Department of Public Health stated in a news release on Friday that because young people are driving the increase in COVID-19 cases in Illinois, more of an effort will be made to get that age group vaccinated quickly.

Beginning in April, the highest case count in Illinois was among those in their 20s. Over the past month, cases among those 18-24 years of age doubled, the release stated.

“Our young adults have a key role to play in bringing this pandemic to an end, and I’m proud to make it easier for our community college and public and private university students to access these life-saving vaccines,” said Governor JB Pritzker in the release. “Getting vaccinated is about protecting yourself, but it’s also about protecting your professors, your parents, your peers, campus staff, and the greater community you call home.”

“College campuses are microcosms of the communities in which they are located, and if we see an increase in cases on campus, we will see an increase in cases in the community,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike in a news release. “Especially as we are starting to see variants become more prevalent and the number of cases and hospitals increasing statewide, we need to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible. With young people driving our increase in cases, this is an important opportunity for our college and university students to protect themselves and their communities.”

The IDPH is offering special “College Vaccination Days” to encourage younger people to get vaccinated at mass vaccination sites.

On April 18, the three mass vaccination sites in Kane County, along with many other across the state, will offer appointments specifically for university students. Colleges and universities will have the links where students can register for an appointment, the release stated.

The Kane Vax Hub is located at 501 N. Randall Road, Batavia; the Aurora Vax site is at 970 N. Lake St.; and the Kane-Cook Elgin Vax site is at the Elgin Eastside Recreation Center, 1800 E. Chicago St. Vaccination appointments can be made for those three sites at kanevax.org.