A 9-year-old Black boy in Bronzeville is among 28 people who have died from COVID-19 in Chicago’s Black neighborhoods since July 26, according to a Crusader analysis of data from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office and the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Cook County data shows that the boy died Monday, August 9, of acute respiratory failure and pneumonia caused by the coronavirus. The name of the boy was not listed in the Cook County Medical Examiner’s database of deaths that includes those caused by COVID-19.
Since the Crusader last reported on people in Black neighborhoods who have died from the disease since July 26, other victims—along with the 9-year-old boy—included nine people who were younger than 38. Three were in their 20s, four were between 40 and 58 years old. Eight of the victims were between 60 and 89.
The zip code that had the most deaths since July 26 was 60643, which includes Morgan Park, Beverly and Washington Heights. A total of five people from those neighborhoods have died since July 26, according to Cook County data. A total of 143 people from 60643 have died from COVID-19. Zip code 60620, which includes Auburn Gresham, Chatham and parts of Beverly, had the second-highest COVID-19 deaths with three victims, for a total of 168.
Other zip codes that experienced multiple COVID-19 deaths since July 26 include Austin (60644), which had three deaths.
Other deaths include those in Chicago Lawn (60629), which had two fatalities; North Lawndale (60623), which had two COVID-19 deaths; South Shore (60649), which had two deaths; Englewood (60621) with two deaths and West Englewood (60636), which also had two deaths.
A Crusader analysis of Chicago’s 57 zip codes show that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the city remains low, compared to the counties in Illinois. The number of new cases in 47 zip codes on Monday, August 9, was in the single digits more than a week after nearly 400,000 people attended the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Grant Park.
With concerns of the Delta variant driving up COVID-19 cases in Cook County and Illinois, zip codes in Chicago that include Black neighborhoods are experiencing rising vaccination rates. In 19 Black zip codes that are part of the Crusader’s COVID-19 database, the vaccination rates in 18 of them have jumped by more than a point since July 26. The zip code that experienced the largest jump was 60629, which includes Chicago Lawn, West Lawn and Ashburn. Since July 26, the vaccination rate in that zip code has climbed from 57.7 percent to 59.5 percent, a 1.8 percent increase over a three-week period.
Englewood, whose zip code 60621 has been the lowest in the city, saw its vaccination rates increase to 36.9 percent, a 1.4 percent increase since July 26. In zip code 60649 (South Shore), which has been the second most vulnerable in the city, the vaccination rates jumped from 37.9 percent on July 26, to 39 percent on August 10.
A Crusader review of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website vaccine.gov shows that many clinics, hospitals and pharmacies on Chicago’s South and West sides have run out of vaccines. They include Loretto Hospital and many Walgreens pharmacies. The dwindling supplies may be a sign of a renewed demand for the vaccine in the wake of disturbing reports of the Delta variant causing a surge in COVID-19 cases in Illinois and across the country.
