Chicago's highly vaccinated neighborhoods

Yesterday we looked at vaccination rates in the state and today we follow up with Chicago's most vaccinated neighborhoods.

• At least 10 residential ZIPs with 15,000+ residents have fully vaccinated 79% of their population over 12 years old against COVID-19.
• These are mostly in North Side, West Side and downtown neighborhoods.

Why it matters: Vaccinated Chicagoans have more COVID protection than the unvaccinated, according to Chicago Department of Public Health statistics.

• Since Thanksgiving, unvaccinated Chicagoans have been three times more likely to be infected by COVID and five times more likely to be hospitalized with complications.

Yes, but: New strains are continuing to hit fully vaccinated people, leading health officials to urge more residents to get the booster.

Between the lines: CDPH notes that more than 650,000 Chicagoans aren't vaccinated or even partially protected from a previous COVID infection.

• "That's more than enough to continue to drive the very real Delta surge we are in right now and the Omicron surge we expect to see in the weeks to come," health commissioner Allison Arwady said at her press conference this week.