Edward-Elmhurst Staffers Suffer From Virus

ELMHURST, IL — More employees at Edward-Elmhurst Health are testing positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks — 30 in all, the organization informed its staff Thursday.

Edward-Elmhurst is the parent organization for Elmhurst Hospital. Edward-Elmhurst called the latest number of cases "a significant trend upward." Most of the positive cases are coming from outpatient areas, not from inpatient exposures or positive patients, the group said.

The organization also said being vaccinated does not mean one cannot get COVID-19. It said 75 to 80 percent of employees who have tested positive are fully vaccinated.

"Unfortunately, no vaccine is 100% effective," Edward-Elmhurst said.

According to a Texas government study, unvaccinated people in their 40s are 55 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those fully vaccinated in the same age group.

As of Friday, 99.5 percent of Edward-Elmhurst's 8,800 employees were vaccinated, according to the organization. That means about 40 remain unvaccinated.