>>> WELCOME TO AT ISSUE.

I'M H. WAYNE WILSON.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR A CONVERSATION YET AGAIN YES ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS.

IT IS A DISEASE THAT JUST ISN'T GIVING UP JUST QUITE YET.

AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW SERIOUS IT IS RIGHT NOW AND WHAT STEPS WE MIGHT TAKE AS INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE SURE WE DO SO WITH DR. DOUG KASPER.

HE'S WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PEORIA.

AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME BACK.

WELCOME TO TALK ABOUT ANY TOPICS OF CORONAVIRUS TODAY.

>> AND ALSO RETURNING, MONICA HENDRICKSON.

SHE'S THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AT THE PEORIA COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

>> THANK YOU.

>> LET'S START WITH THE NUMBERS.

WHERE ARE WE COMPARED TO A MONTH AGO, A WEEK AGO?

>> I WISH WE WERE TO WHERE WE WERE A MONTH AGO.

I KNOW FOR PEORIA COUNTY, OUR TO DATE TOTALS ARE JUST OVER 24,000 CASES TO DATE.

WE WERE AVERAGING ABOUT 1 TO 2 CASES A DAY, AND NOW WE'RE BACK TO THE UPPER 20s, MID O 30s IN TERMS OF CASES PER DAY OUR COUNTY IS SEEING.

WHICH TAKES US CLOSE TO WHAT WE WERE IN MAY.

IF THIS CONTINUES, WE'RE CATCHING THAT WAVE BACK UP AND SURGING UP MORE AND MORE.

>> I LOOKED AT THE MAPS FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT STATES ON THE SURGE.

SOUTHERN STATES, WESTERN STATES.

A FEW IN THE NORTHEAST, AND THEN MISSOURI AND KENTUCKY ABUTTING ILLINOIS HAVE THAT SURGE THAT WAVE IS GOING UP SIGNIFICANTLY, ILLINOIS ISN'T GOING UP QUITE AS MUCH, BUT WE DID HEAR THE NUMBERS.

ARE WE GOING TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS SURGE IN ILLINOIS?

>> WE HOPE NOT.

I THINK THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT FACTORS WE NEED TO DISCUSS.

ONE IS THAT OUR COMPLETED VACCINATION RATE IN THE TRICOUNTY AREA SITS AT ABOUT 46%.

WE KNOW THAT ONE IN TWO RESIDENTS REMAINS NOT FULLY VACCINATED TO DATE.

THAT WOULD PREDICT IF THOSE INDIVIDUALS CAME IN CONGRESS TAUKT WITH THE PREDOMINANT CIRCULATING STRAIN, THE DELTA STRAIN OF SARS COV-2 THEY WOULD BE INFECTED.

WHEN WE DISCUSSED PRIOR CIRCULATING STRAINS OVER THE FALL AND WINTER.

IF YOU CONTRACTED SARS COV-2 SAY IN DECEMBER, ON AVERAGE, EACH PERSON WHO CONTRACTED IT WOULD BE AT RISK OF INFECTING THREE OTHER PEOPLE.

WITH THE DELTA STRAIN, EACH PERSON THAT'S INFECTED IS INFECTING ABOUT SEVEN OTHER PEOPLE.

SO WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS HOW TO MITIGATE THAT, HOW TO REDUCE THAT RISK THAT WE KNOW THE STRAIN IS CIRCULATING, WE'VE SEEN WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE SOUTHERN U.S. AND AS CLOSE AS UP THROUGH MISSOURI INTO ST. LOUIS, WE'RE TRYING TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON WHAT MANEUVERS CAN WE DO.

BECAUSE THE VIRUS WILL APPEAR, NOTHING ABOUT VACCINATION DEEPS YOU FROM COMING INTO CONTACT WITH VIRUS.

AND AS WE'VE MOVED AWAY FROM MITIGATION MEASURES SUCH AS SOCIAL DISTANCING, WE KNOW PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING MORE THAN EVER, WE HAVE TO EXPECT THE VIRUS WILL BE ANYWHERE.

ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO STOP THAT, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS MITIGATE IT.

REDUCE RISK TO ALL INDIVIDUALS SO WE CAN CONTINUE WITH TRAVEL, SCHOOL, EXTRACURRICULAR.

>> WHAT MITIGATION MEASURES DO YOU RECOMMEND?

>> IF YOU'RE MEDICALLY ELIGIBLE GET VACCINATED.

IT'S SHOWN INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE GETTING THE VACCINE ARE -- WE'RE SEEING VERY LOW PERCENTAGE OF BEING HOSPITALIZED, VERY LOW PERCENTAGE ENDING UP IN DEATH.

AND THEY'RE NOT CARRIERS TRANSMITTING THIS VIRUS TO OTHER PEOPLE.

BEING THAT -- LEADING UP TO SEVEN OTHER VACCINATED.

IF YOU'RE ABLE TO GET VACCINATED, MASKING.

IT'S SHOWN TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MEASURE IN PREVENTING THE SPREAD.

IT PREVENTING THE DROPLETS FOR THE PERSON BEING ILL OR ASYMPTOMATIC.

BUT ALSO SOMEONE BREATHING IN THAT DROPLET, WHICH IS A COMMON WACO INDIVIDUAL SPREADS.

WEARING MASKS, PRACTICING SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND GETTING TESTED IF YOU FEEL ARE YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS.

I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WEARING MASK FOR THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF, AND MAY THINK, IT'S ANOTHER RANDOM COLD, I'M VACCINATED OR I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN EXPOSED.

DEFINITELY GET TESTED AND KNOW YOUR STATUS.

>> THE CREW HERE IS FULLY MASKED, WE WERE MASKED RIGHT UNTIL THE TIME WE STARTED TO TAPE THE PROGRAM.

SO MASKING, SOCIAL DISTANCING, HAND HYGIENE.

YET THE DELTA VARIANT IS EXTREMELY CONTAGIOUS.

>> I'D LIKE TO GO BACK TO WHAT MONICA SAID.

VACCINATION IS THE KEY TOPIC OF THE MOMENT.

WITH HIGH AREAS THAT HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF VACCINATION SUCH AS WE'RE SEEING IN VERMONT AND MAINE, VERY LOW CASE VOLUME.

VERY LOW HOSPITALIZED CASE VOLUME.

AREAS WITH LOWER VACCINE UPTAKE ARE SEEING SURGES IN THE VIRUS.

ALL OF THESE OTHER MEASURES WE TALK ABOUT, NONE OF US WANT TO CONTINUE WITH THOSE OVER THE LONG HAUL.

WE WANT THESE MITIGATION MEASURES GO AWAY, IT WAS WONDERFUL TO HAVE PERIODS IN MAY, JUNE AND JULY LOCALLY, THIS IS BASED OFF HAVING HIGH UPTAKE OF VACCINE IN THIS POPULATION.

OTHER METRICS WHICH ARE IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND.

IF YOU ARE FULLY VACCINATED AND YOU COME INTO CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO IS ACTIVELY INFECTIOUS.

YOU'RE 25 TIMES LESS LIKELY TO BECOME INFECTED THAN SOMEONE WHO'S UNVACCINATED.

IF YOU HAVE A BREAKTHROUGH CASE, WHERE YOU ARE VACCINATED, AND YOU STILL CONTRACT SARS COV-2, YOU ARE OVERWHELMINGLY UNLIKELY TO GO INTO THE HOSPITAL OR HAVE A SERIOUS OUTCOME FROM INFECTION.

WAY LESS THAN 1% OF CASES THAT WE ARE SEEING IN THE HOSPITAL ARE IN FULLY VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS.

AND IF YOU'RE FULLY VACCINATED AND YOU CONTRACT THE VIRUS.

YOUR TIME WHERE YOU COULD SPREAD TO OTHERS IS LESS THAN IN AN UNVACCINATED STATE.

ALL OF THOSE METRICS STRONGLY FAVOR VACCINATION AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND A GROUP BENEFIT.

>> I WANT TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT VACCINES AND MOVE IT TO THE 12 TO 17-YEAR-OLD RANGE, THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS.

THIS WAS A KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION REPORT THAT JUST CAME OUT.

NINE IN TEN OF THOSE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE BUT HAVE NOT YET BEEN VACCINATED HAVE CONCERN OVER LONG TERM EFFECTS OF COVID-19, 8 IN 10 HAVE A CONCERN OVER SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS.

AND 3 IN 4, 75% FEAR IT WILL AFFECT THE FERTILITY OF THEIR CHILD.

SO, THEREFORE, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE VACCINE.

THREE IN FOUR ARE WORRIED ABOUT THAT.

ANY VALIDITY TO ANY OF THESE CONCERNS?

>> NO, FIRST AND FOREMOST.

WHAT'S INTERESTING IS, WE RECENTLY PARTNERED WITH THE PEORIA PARK DISTRICT.

WE CAME IN THERE AND SAID ASK US ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT COVID.

IT WAS PARENTS AND STUDENTS WHO ARE ALL ELIGIBLE FOR THE VACCINE.

WE HEARD THE SAME QUESTIOS, SAME CONCERNS.

THIS IS UNIVERSAL.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD -- A LOT OF QUESTIONS WERE IF IT'S MRNA, IT SOUNDS LIKE DNA, ARE YOU CHANGING MY DNA.

NO, THIS IS NOT HOW THE VACCINES WORK.

IT DOES NOT LEAVE A LONG TERM PRODUCT IN YOUR BODY.

LIKEWISE, THERE'S QUESTIONS ABOUT FERTILITY, A LOT OF THAT WAS ADDRESSED BY THE COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY.

NO IMPACTS ON THIS.

THERE ARE NUMEROUS STUDIES ON RESEARCH OUT THERE, BY PEER REVIEW, SCIENTIFIC BASED INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES.

I HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS, THEY ARE NOT VACCINE ELIGIBLE, BUT MY PERSONAL STORY IS, AS SOON AS THEY ARE, I WILL GET THEM VACCINATED.

THAT'S HOW MUCH I UNDERSTAND AND FEEL THE SAFETY OF THESE VACCINE.

>> JUST TO BE CLEAR, DR. KASPER, MRNA IS NOT NEW TECHNOLOGY?

>> NO, IT'S NOT.

IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE LIKELY GOING TO SEE IN THE FUTURE.

IT'S BEEN HYPOTHESIZED TO BE USEFUL FOR POSSIBLE CANCER TREATMENTS.

AND OTHER INFECTIONS.

WHILE IT'S BEING APPLIED TO COVID-19, MRNA WILL BE SIGNIFICANT BREAK THROUGH IN MANY OTHER FIELDS OF MEDICINE IN THE COMING YEARS.

>> I WANT TO STATE ONE MORE QUESTION ON THE VACCINE ITSELF.

AND THAT IS, IF YOU'VE HAD COVID-19, MILD OR SERIOUS, SHOULD YOU GET A VACCINE?

>> YOU SHOULD.

AND I'M GOING TO PIGGYBACK MY ANSWER TO THE QUESTION ABOUT ADVERSE EFFECTS.

WE HAVE ABOUT A YEAR OF REALTIME DATA, SINCE CLINICAL TRIALS WITH VACCINES STARTED.

SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE ARE ASKED ARE, WE'RE GETTING REPLAYS WEEKLY, MEANING WE'RE CHECKING UP ON STUDY GROUPS AND SEEING HOW THEY'VE DONE AT SIX MONTHS, NINE MONTHS, 12 MONTHS INTERVALS.

WE'RE GAIN MORE INSIGHT INTO QUESTIONS ABOUT EFFICACY, SAFETY, INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE HAD INFECTION AND RECEIVED VACCINE GET A ROBUST BOOST OF ANTIBODY LEVELS AFTER RECEIVING VACCINES.

INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE HAD INFECTION AND RECEIVED VACCINE HAVE BEEN SHOWN IN A STUDY GROUP RELEASED THIS WEEK OUT OF KENTUCKY, LESS LIKELY TOO GET INFECTION AT ABOUT 2 1/2 TIMES LESS THAN PEOPLE THAT HAD NATURAL IMMUNITY INFECTION ALONE.

THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT NATURAL IMMUNITY DOESN'T EXIST.

CERTAINLY, PEOPLE THAT WERE INFECTED HAVE AN IMMUNE RESPONSE.

WHAT WE'RE SEEING OUT OF IZ REAL.

AND ISRAEL HAS BECOME THE GOLD STANDARD BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO VACCINATE A LARGE PORTION OF THEIR POPULATION, AND BECAUSE OF THEIR DATA KEEPING, THAT IN DOES APPEAR TO BE SOME EARLY SIGNS OF WANING IMMUNITY IN VACCINE AND NATURAL INFECTION.

WE ARE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT TOPICS SUCH AS A NEED FOR A BOOSTER OR AS THE STRAIN CHANGES, AS IT'S CHANGED TO DELTA, DOES THAT CHANGE WHAT WE THOUGHT EVEN TWO, THREE MONTHS PRIOR.

>> REAL QUICKLY.

THE PROSPECTS OF -- FOR THOSE WHO ARE YOUNGER THAN 12, A VACCINE BECOMING AVAILABLE?

>> I WOULD SAY INEVITABLE.

THE POINT WE ARE AT IS NOT IF IT'S EFFECTIVE, BUT IT'S ACCUMULATING ENOUGH DATA POINTS TO SHOW THAT THE SAFETY PROFILE CAN BE PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC WITH AS MUCH CONFIDENCE AS POSSIBLE.

>> MONICA, IN GENERAL, WHAT ARGUMENT CAN YOU MAKE IN FAVOR OF GETTING A VACCINE?

WHAT ARGUMENT WOULD YOU PRESENT TO THOSE WHO ARE UNVACCINATED AND ARE HESITANT?

>> THE FIRST QUESTION IS, WHAT CREATES THEIR HESITENCY.

WE KNOW THAT HESITENCY COMES IN A LOT OF FORMS AND A LOT OF WAYS.

IT COULD BE A PERSON THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION.

HAS BEEN NATURALLY EXPOSED TO COVID, GOT SICK AND DOESN'T REALIZE THEY NEED THE NEXT STEP.

IT COULD BE THE MISINFORMATION THAT'S OUT THERE.

FEAR OF NEEDLES, FEAR OF ALL OF THIS.

WE RAN THE GAMUT IN OUR OWN PRACTICE.

BY THE END OF THE DAY, VACCINES ARE VERY EFFECTIVE, NOT ONLY FOR YOU PERSONALLY, BUT FOR PROTECTING YOUR NEIGHBOR.

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT GETS LOST IN THIS DIALOGUE.

THAT'S A REALLY SELF-REFLECTIVE ON THE INDIVIDUAL.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOW IMPACTFUL THE VACCINE IS TO YOUR NEIGHBORS, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN'T MEASURE HOW EFFECTIVE IT IS, YOU ARE PREVENTING CASES FROM HAPPENING.

I WOULD ARGUE THAT IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION, IF YOU ARE WANTING MORE INFORMATION, GO TO RELIABLE SOURCES THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN GET YOUR Ph.D. ON FACEBOOK FROM.

AND RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS IMPACTING THOSE AROUND YOU.

>> SENATOR RAND PAUL ISSUED A STATEMENT SAYING THAT CLOTH MASKS DO NOT WORK.

HE SUFFERED SOME SOCIAL MEDIA EXCLUSIONS BECAUSE OF THAT REMARK.

DO CLOTH MASKS WORK?

>> CLOTH MASKS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO WORK WHEN THEY'RE EFFECTIVELY WORN AND ARE THE RIGHT TYPE AND SIZING.

WE ALL RECOGNIZE, YOU CAN'T WEAR YOUR MASK AROUND YOUR CHIN.

WE'VE DONE STUDIES LOOKING AT THE POPULATION AND THE POPULATION AS A WHOLE.

WE'VE SEEN IMPACTS OF PROPER MASKING TO DECREASE THE RISK OR THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS BY ANYWHERE FROM THREE TIMES, INDIVIDUALS WERE GETTING LESS EXPOSURE, UP TO 40 OR 75%.

A GREAT STUDY WAS, THERE WAS A SALON, WHERE TWO INDIVIDUALS WERE SYMPTOMATIC, STYLISTS, THEY WORE FACE MASKS, THEIR CLIENTS WORE FACE MASKS.

67 THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT.

NONE OF THEM BECAME POSITIVE.

>> YOU SHARE THE SAME FEELING WITH REGARD TO MASKS?

>> I DO AND I WOULD ADD TO THAT, THE IMPORTANCE OF MASKS WOULD GO DOWN DRAMATICALLY AS OUR VACCINATION RATE GOES UP.

IF WE HAD HIGH CONFIDENCE WE WERE AT 70 PLUS PERCENT, THE RELIABLE NATURE OF IMMUNE RESPONSE FAR OUTWEIGHS WHAT A MASK ADDS.

WE'RE IN A SITUATION WHERE THERE ARE GEOGRAPHIC OUTBREAKS NOT FAR FROM OUR AREA, AND WE'RE SEEING A SLOW RISE IN VACCINE UPTAKE.

IT'S ALMOST PLATEAUED IN THE LAST MONTH.

WE NEED ALTERNATIVE PLAN UNTIL WE GET A HIGHER PERCENTAGE VACCINATED.

>> THE QUESTION OF, WELL, I'M NOT GOING TO GET VACCINATED BECAUSE IT'S NOT PERFECT.

AND I CAN PROVE THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE BREAKTHROUGH CASES.

THE VACCINE WAS NEVER PROMISED TO BE PERFECT, BUT IT IS EFFECTIVE.

>> THE VACCINE IS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE AT PREVENTING SEVERE OUTCOMES OF COVID-19 INFECTION.

THE DESIRE HAS NEVER BEEN TO ERADICATE COVID-19, THE DESIRE IS TO NOT HAVE PEOPLE STOP GOING TO GET TESTED.

THE DESIRE IS TO REDUCE HOSPITALIZATION.

REDUCE DEATH.

REDUCE LONG TERM OUTCOME.

UNDERSTANDING THAT NINE OUT OF TEN PEOPLE THAT RECEIVE THE VACCINE WILL NEVER HAVE OR ARE UNLIKELY TO HAVE ANY EFFECT FROM IT, MEANS THAT ONE PERSON WILL TEST POSITIVE.

THAT PERSON IS STILL UNLIKELY TO GO IN THE HOSPITAL.

THEY ARE STILL UNLIKELY TO HAVE ANY SERIOUS EFFECTS.

BUT AS THE OVERALL NUMBER CONTINUES TO CLIMB WITH VACCINATED, THERE WILL BE BREAKTHROUGH CASES, IT'S COMPLETELY EXPECTED.

WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRACKING IS HOSPITALIZATIONS, AND THAT'S WHAT'S BEEN THE BIG DRIVER OF EMPHASIS IN TEXAS, FLORIDA, ARKANSAS, WE'RE SEEING THAT HOSPITALS AGAIN ICU LEVELS HAVE BEEN SATURATED P. >> WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF THE -- NOT MISINFORMATION, BUT NOT UNDERSTANDING THE FULL PICTURE.

THE DELTA VARIANT IS A PREDOMINANT VARIANT WE HAVE IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS RIGHT NOW, IT'S DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SAW LAST YEAR.

EACH VARIANT IS ALMOST BRAND NEW IN ESSENCE.

A LOT OF TIMES, PEOPLE SAY, WE DIDN'T SEE THIS POPULATION HOSPITALIZED.

THAT MEANS ALL THE TIME YOU WILL NOT SEE THE POPULATION HOSPITALIZED.

ESPECIALLY YOUNG CHILDREN.

PEOPLE TALK ABOUT VACCINE HESITENCY, BECAUSE I'M A YOUNG 20-YEAR-OLD, I'M NEVER GOING TO BE AT A HIGH RISK FOR DEATH OR HOSPITALIZATIONS.

WE NEGATE THE LONG TERM OUTCOMES.

LONG HAULERS, THE IMPACTS THAT COVID HAS ON THE BODY, YOU KNOW, IS DRASTIC, AND I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE IGNORED.

WE TALK ABOUT GETTING VACCINES OR DOING MASS,ING IN TERMS OF A MORTALITY, BUT NOT FROM A QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURE.

WHICH IS THE OTHER PART WHAT VACCINES DO.

THEY HELP YOU NOT GET SICK AND HAVE A HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE.

>> LONG HAUL MIGHT BE FOR EXAMPLE WHAT?

>> THAT'S THE TRICKIEST PART, IT'S VAGUE.

MANY PEOPLE REPORTED FATIGUE, DIFFICULTY WITH CONCENTRATION, BUT REALLY AS MONICA MENTIONED, IT TAKES THEM AWAY FROM THEIR NORMAL LIFE.

THESE CAN BE SIMPLE TASKS SUCH AS EXERCISING, CONCENTRATING ON A FAMILY BUDGET OR DAILY LIST.

BECAUSE THEY'RE SAO UNIQUE, THERE ISN'T A ONE SIZED FITS ALL PLAN ON HOW TO OFFER PEOPLE FOLLOW-UP, HOW TO OFFER THEM CARE.

WE DON'T WANT TO WAIT FOR A PLETHORA OF LONG TERM CASES TO SAY, YES, THIS LEAD TO SOMETHING THAT WAS UNDESIRABLE.

EVEN IF IT DIDN'T LEAD TO DEATH.

BUT WE ARE SEEING AT THIS POINT, WE'RE SEEING ENOUGH PEOPLE THAT HAVE LONG COMPLAINTS THAT IT IS NOT MADE UP, IT'S NOT BY ACCIDENT.

THESE ARE MANIFESTATIONS OF COVID-19 OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.

>> I KNOW YOU WANT TO APPROACH THIS TOPIC CAUTIOUSLY, MONICA.

BUT THERE ARE NO RESTRICTIONS RIGHT NOW IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.

YOU CAN GO TO A RESTAURANT, YOU CAN GO TO A BAR, A THEATER, WHAT HAVE YOU.

WHAT IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION TO THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING IN TERMS OF THEIR SOCIAL ACTIVITY?

VACCINATED OR UNVACCINATED?

>> I THINK FIRST AND FOREMOST, UNDERSTANDING THE RISK IN YOUR COMMUNITY.

RIGHT NOW, THE TRICOUNTY REGION, WE ARE AT SUBSTANTIAL OR HIGH TRANSMISSION, THAT MEANS OUR CASE RATES AT A CERTAIN GROWTH LEVEL IN POSITIVITY HAS INCREASED.

KNOWING THAT, WE SHOULD BE DOING ALL WE CAN TO MITIGATE OUR CONTROL.

WE'RE NOT ELIMINATING, WE'RE MITIGATING, WE'RE TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO LIVE IN TANDEM WITH THIS ONGOING VIRUS.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS IS MASK IN PUBLIC.

MASK WHEN YOU'RE OUT, EVEN IF YOU'RE FULLY VACCINATED.

ALWAYS GET VACCINE IF YOU'RE MEDICALLY ELIGIBLE TO.

THAT'S THE HALLMARK.

IF YOU'RE FEELING SYMPTOMS, MAKE SURE YOU'RE SELF-ISOLATING, GET TESTED, DON'T EXPOSE OTHER INDIVIDUALS.

I THINK FIRST AND FOREMOST, UNDERSTAND THE RISKS YOU HAVE IN YOUR COMMUNITY.

>> SO WE ARE AT A SUBSTANTIAL RISK?

>> PEORIA COUNTY IS SUBSTANTIAL, WOODFORD IS AS WELL AND I BELIEVE TALFORWARD IS AS WELL.

>> I WANT TO TALK ABOUT MULTISYSTEM INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME IN YOUNG PEOPLE.

>> EARLY ON WITH COVID-19, ONE OF THE MAIN DISCUSSION POINTS THAT IT PREFERENTIALLY LEADS TO NEGATIVE OUTCOMES IN OLDER ADULT ADULTS.

THE CASE RATE IN CHILDREN HAS BEEN MUCH LOWER THAN WHAT WE SEE WITH ADULTS.

WHAT'S BEEN CONCERNING WITH THE EMERGENCE OF DELTA, IS THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN TESTING POSITIVE, BUT REQUIRING HOSPITALIZED CARE HAS GONE UP FROM WHAT WE SAW WITH A PRIOR VARIANT.

MISC, OR THE INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME IS AN ASSOCIATED OUTCOME, RARE, BUT THAT HAS BEEN SEEN WITH CHILDREN THAT HAVE COVID-19.

WE PROCEEDED LAST YEAR WITH THE IDEA THAT CHILDREN COULD BECOME INFECTED, CHILDREN COULD TRANSMIT INFECTION, BUT THE OVERALL OUTCOMES WERE VERY MINOR, THAT IS CHANGES WITH WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN AREAS THAT ARE HAVING HIGHER CASE RATES.

THE PEDIATRIC ADMISSIONS FOR CHILDREN THAT ARE ALSO -- THAT ARE TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 ARE HIGHER THAN WHAT WE SAW BEFORE.

BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME ASSOCIATED OUTCOMES SUCH AS MISC, AND WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A POPULATION, 11 AND YOUNGER THAT ANNOT BE VACCINATED AT THIS POINT, WE REALLY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO PROTECT THAT GROUP WITH MEASURES THAT HAVE COME FROM AROUND OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.

>>> TALKING ABOUT THE AGE RANGE OF PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE SUBJECTED TO THE CORONAVIRUS.

DO YOU HAVE NUMBERS?

WHAT AGE RANGE, EARLY, VERY EARLY SENIOR CITIZENS, PEOPLE WITH SOME SORT OF A IS A SEPTEMBERABILITY.

WHAT IS IT NOW?

>> OF OUR ACTIVE CASES, THOSE THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE MOST RECENT WEEKS, JUST UNDER 50% ARE POPULATION FROM ZERO TO 29.

>> HALF?

>> HALF OF OUR CASES RIGHT NOW ARE ASSOCIATED WITH OUR YOUNGER POPULATION, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SAW LAST YEAR.

WHICH WAS PRIMARILY OUR 65 AND OLDER.

NOW WE'RE SEEING THE FEWEST CASES IN THIS THAT POPULATION, BECAUSE THEY WERE ONE OF THE FIRST GROUPS TO BE FULLY VACCINATED.

FROM PEORIA COUNTY'S PERSPECTIVE, THE YOUNGER AGE RANGE IS THE GROUP THAT HAS LESS PEOPLE VACCINATED.

VERSUS AGES 30 AND OLDER, 50% OF OUR POPULATION IS VACCINATED.

>> WE TALKED ABOUT ONE VARIANT, THE STRAIN REFERRED TO AS DELTA.

AND, OF COURSE, ALPHA, THE ORIGINAL, WHAT ABOUT THE SUBSEQUENT ONES, LAMDA HAS COME UP, SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED ABOUT A WHOLE SEQUENCE OF VARIANTS?

>> THERE WILL ALWAYS BE VARIANTS.

THE VIRUS' ONLY GOAL IS TO REPLICATE.

THE VIRUS LOOKS FOR A HOST THAT ALLOWS REPLICATION.

A STRAIN THAT CAN REPLICATE EFFECTIVELY WILL BE THE DOMINANT STRAIN.

DELTA CAN REPLICATE MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN PRIOR STRAINS.

SO WHILE THERE MAY BE CHANGES.

YOU WILL HEAR VARIANTS OF CONCERN THAT WILL COME FROM ACROSS THE WORLD, WHAT THE TAKE HOME IS, AT THIS POINT, THE VACCINES PROTECT AGAINST ALL OF THE CIRCULATING STRAINS TO PREVENT SERIOUS EFFECTS AT A LEVEL 90% OR ABOVE.

WHILE THERE WILL BE BREAKTHROUGH CASES, VARIANTS, VACCINATION HELPS WITH ALL OF THAT.

>> CRYSTAL BALL TIME, VERY BRIEFLY.

WE HAVE A SITUATION WHERE WE HAD THE FLU I AND WE KNOW THERE'S A NEW STRAIN NEXT WINTER, THE WINTER AFTER THAT, FLU SEEMS TO BE A RECURRING DISEASE.

WILL CORONAVIRUS DISAPPEAR OR WILL IT BE LIKE FLU AND KEEP REPLICATING IN IN A DIFFERENT FORM?

>> CORONAVIRUS EFFECTS CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY MITIGATED, AND IT IS -- WE GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SARS OUTBREAK IN THE EARLY 2000s.

THE ORIGINAL SARS OUTBREAK ENDED BECAUSE THE VIRUS CHANGED.

THE VIRUS HAS A FINITE GENETIC STRUCTURE, IT DOES NOT HAVE INFINITE MOVES FOR FUTURE VARIANTS.

>> THE BOTTOM LINE IS, GET VACCINATED?

>> YES, DEFINITELY.

>> THANK YOU TO BOTH OF YOU.

DR. KASPER, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF PEORIA, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH ME.

AND MONICA HENDRICKSON, ADMINISTRATOR AT THE CITY/COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

I HOPE WE DON'T HAVE TO INVITE YOU BACK AGAIN REAL ZONE.

>> THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

WE'LL BE BACK WITH ANOTHER EDITION OF AT ISSUE.

PLEASE JOIN US NEXT TIME.