Southwest IL hits one benchmark for looser COVID rules, still falls short on another

The metro-east’s COVID-19 seven-day average positivity rate on Wednesday reached a key metric, but, as was the case Tuesday, another critical criteria that could loosen restrictions on indoor dining hasn’t been met.

The positivity rate, which is one measure the state uses to determine whether virus mitigation efforts should be strengthened or loosened, fell to 7.5% on Wednesday from 7.7% Tuesday, marking the third-straight day it’s been below 8%.

Wednesday’s figure also was the lowest the rate has been since Oct. 17.

However, the region’s intensive care unit bed availability stood at 18% Wednesday — down from 19% on Tuesday — meaning the region hasn’t met all the metrics needed to go to the Rebuild Illinois Plan’s Tier 1 restrictions. The region is now under Tier 2 restrictions.

The region must meet the following metrics to move to Tier 1:

• Test positivity rate between 6.5% and 8% for three consecutive days on a seven-day average
• Staffed ICU bed availability must be at 20% or more for three consecutive days on a seven-day average
• No sustained increase in COVID patients in the hospital on a seven-day average for seven of 10 days

The region has had 10-straight days of COVID-19 patient decreases as of Wednesday.

The metro-east officially received word it would move into Tier 2 restrictions as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzkers Rebuild Illinois plan Friday. The area was the last remaining region in Illinois to remain under the state’s tightest COVID-19 restrictions.

Tier 2 still bans indoor service at bars and restaurants but loosens restrictions on casinos, video gambling, youth sports and museums. If the region meets additional requirements, it could move into Tier 1, which allows indoor dining with the lesser of 25 patrons or 25% capacity.

Region 4 includes St. Clair, Madison, Bond, Clinton, Monroe, Randolph and Washington counties.

The region also reported a daily positivity rate of 5.4% on Wednesday — the lowest since Oct. 13 — down sharply from 7.7% on Tuesday.

The new testing positivity rate is based on data recorded as of Jan. 24. A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.

Region 4 vaccine update

As of Wednesday, 5,859 people have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the metro-east’s seven counties, up from 5,417 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a total of 30,926 shots have been administered, up from 28,758 the previous day, according to data from the state health department.

Madison County has administered the most vaccines in the region, with a total of 10,934 as of Wednesday, and had fully vaccinated the most individuals at 2,273. St. Clair County is close behind with 10,712 total vaccines administered and 1,921 people fully vaccinated.

Vaccinations of healthcare workers and others in the 1A vaccinations group began in mid-December and have been ongoing since. In St. Clair County, people 75 years and up are now eligible to begin 1B vaccinations.

Vaccinations in Phase 1B will be by appointment only at some pharmacies, as well as state-run and locally-run clinics. More detailed information about locations will be announced at coronavirus.illinois.gov.

Here’s how you can let your county health department know you are interested in setting up a COVID-19 vaccine appointment when you become eligible:

• St. Clair County: Fill out the COVID-19 Notification for Vaccine Availability form online at health.co.st-clair.il.us. (If you don’t have internet access or need help signing up, call the health department at 618-825-4447.)
• Madison County: Fill out the Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Vaccine Registration Survey online at madisonchd.org.
• Clinton County: Fill out the Clinton County, IL Health Department COVID-19 Vaccine Registry online at clintoncountyhealth.com or call the health department at 618-594-6622 to be added to the vaccine waitlist. (The waitlist is currently only for residents who are 65 years old or older. You don’t need to fill out the form if you already called to get on the waitlist.)
• Monroe County: Sign up for the phone and email alert system CodeRED.
• Randolph County: Call the health department at 618-826-5007 or fill out one of the following vaccine waiting lists: Memorial Hospital COVID-19 Vaccination Sign-Up online at mhchester.com/covidvax; or Red Bud Regional Hospital’s COVID-19 Vaccine Waiting List online at redbudanytime.com. (The waitlists are currently only for residents who are 65 years old or older.)
• Bond County: Fill out the Bond County, IL Health Department COVID-19 Vaccine Registry online at bchd.us to be added to the vaccine waitlist. (The waitlist is currently only for residents who are 65 years old or older, health care workers and frontline essential workers, including teachers, first responders and grocery store employees. You do not need to fill out the form if you already called the health department to get on the waitlist.)
• Washington County: Call the health department at 618-327-3644 to be added to the vaccine waitlist. (The waitlist is currently only for residents who are 65 years old or older.)

State of Illinois vaccine update

According to the state health department, a total of 1,253,300 doses of vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago.

In addition, about 537,050 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 1,790,350. IDPH is currently reporting a total of 773,623 vaccines administered, including 117,983 for long-term care facilities.

On Tuesday, a total of 53,628 doses were administered. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 33,698 doses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is adjusting the number of doses per vial of Pfizer vaccine. Initially, each vial of Pfizer vaccine was counted as having five doses. However, it has since been found that the vials contain six doses.

The CDC is now adjusting the number of doses of vaccine that have been made available. Each box of Pfizer vaccine containing 195 vials and was considered to contain 975 doses. Now, each box of 195 vials will be counted as containing 1,170 doses.

Meanwhile, the state reported Wednesday that roughly 1.26% of its entire population has been fully vaccinated, or 159,996 individuals.

Illinois announces new cases, deaths

Meanwhile, the state of Illinois announced 3,751 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total to 1,112,181. The state health department also announced 81 additional deaths to bring the total to 18,964 since the pandemic began.

Also within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 80,124 new tests have been administered for a total of 15,633,433.

As of Tuesday, when the latest data was available, 2,931 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 591 patients were in the ICU, and 300 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from Jan. 20-26 is 4.5%.

This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 12:51 PM.