Statistics don’t tell the whole story of the pandemic. But experts say the data they’ve collected provides vital insights into how the outbreak has hit different communities — and what everyone should think about as we learn to live with the virus permanently.
"This past winter shows we may be getting to a point where we can make it through a year without crushing the health care system," said Dr. Arti Barnes, chief medical officer of the Illinois Department of Public Health. "That’s one of the first optimistic signs that we’re reaching a point where we’re starting to heal."More than 4 million COVID infections have been confirmed in the state since early 2020.
"During the worst of it, it was like a mass-casualty disaster on a daily basis," said Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, chief operating officer of the Cook County Department of Public Health.A bill that would declassify intelligence on the origins of COVID-19 is on President Joe Bidens desk. That improvement — as well the fact that the larger omicron case surge didn’t result in more deaths than in the fall of 2020 — offer testament to the effectiveness of vaccination, experts say.
The Chicago area accounts for almost half that toll, with about 8,000 in the city and more than 7,500 in suburban Cook County. Death rates shrunk overall by about half through 2021, but the virus still killed Black and Hispanic residents at a rate about 1.5 times higher than white residents.
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