COVID-19 positivity rates in Brookfield and the 60546 ZIP code, which includes both Riverside and North Riverside, have fallen to levels not seen since last spring.

According to the Northwestern School of Medicine’s online dashboard tracking COVID-19 data, the seven-day rolling positivity rate in the 60546 ZIP code as of Oct. 25 had fallen to 0.89 percent, while Brookfield’s positivity rate had dipped to 1.25 percent.

No additional deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in any of the communities since Oct. 11 and the number of new cases in each village remains low, although they ticked up a fraction in Brookfield and Riverside for the week-long period ending Oct. 26.

Both Riverside and Brookfield reported 11 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, while North Riverside reported just three, the lowest one-week total in that village since late July.

Even though cases in Brookfield and Riverside inched upward from single-digit totals the week before, the rate is similar to those seen in late July in those villages.

The news comes as vaccination rates statewide continue to slowly climb, with 63.5 percent of all Illinoisans, 12 and older, having been fully vaccinated, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, and 81.1 percent having received at least one dose of the vaccine.

DuPage County, suburban Cook County and Lake County are the three areas with the highest rates of full vaccination in the state, all above 62 percent. According to the Cook County Department of Public Health, 84.3 percent of Riverside residents are fully vaccinated, with 61.2 percent fully vaccinated in Brookfield and 41.5 percent fully vaccinated in North Riverside.

Child vaccines on the horizon

Gov. J.B. Pritzker at a press conference on Oct. 25 focused on the state’s effort to prepare for the approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children age 5-11. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee is scheduled to meet Nov. 2 and 3 to consider approval.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said the department has begun planning events for the following week. There are 1.1 million Illinoisans in the age 5-11 range that will become eligible for vaccination should the CDC approve it.

“I firmly believe when we begin to vaccinate our younger residents of this state, the numbers will continue to drop for the cases and the hospitalizations statewide,” she said. “We use car seats and safety restraints in vehicles. We protect our kids from cigarette smoke and secondhand smoke. We monitor the toys they play with, and we vaccinate against vaccine-preventable diseases that literally save lives. Today, I’m asking you to add COVID to that list of vaccines.”

The governor’s office said more than 2,200 providers statewide are already enrolled to provide the vaccine to children, and the state expects to receive 306,000 doses, with another 73,000 going to the city of Chicago and 100,000 doses to pharmacies.

The outreach effort will also go directly to schools, Pritzker said.

“We will be reaching out to approximately 750 public school districts that teach elementary-aged students to offer them the opportunity to host parent-approved clinics right on school grounds,” he said. “We will have a team ready to go at the request of any district.”

Parents hoping to get their children vaccinated by the holiday season should call their pediatricians as soon as possible, the governor said.

For more on how to obtain a vaccine, visit vaccines.gov.

Jerry Nowicki of Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report.