St. Clair County readies for next tier of COVID-19 vaccinations Monday

St. Clair County will advance into 1B vaccinations starting Monday.

County residents 75 and older who registered for a vaccination will receive notifications for appointments beginning Monday. Additionally, people who meet 1A criteria are still eligible to receive a vaccine.

Individuals without internet access or who need help signing up for vaccine notification can call the health department at 618-825-4447 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, according to the press release.

“Above 75, there are a lot of those individuals in St. Clair County, so they may not hear right away,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said.

More than 7,000 people 75 or older have expressed interest in the vaccine, according to St. Clair County Health Department Deputy Director Myla Blandford. She also explained the order in which people will be notified.

“We pull it from chronological order and then divide it out to providers as vaccine appointments become available,” she said during Sunday’s daily briefing. “We’re focusing on the 75 and above and that’s because we have seen a higher mortality rate in that group. If we have issues where people don’t come for appointments, the hospitals and the providers may reach down to that 65 and above category.

“We do not want to waste any doses of vaccine, so we always have the list available of people that we can pull from in those types of situations.”

Added Kern, “If loads of vaccine start coming in, then all of a sudden these groups open up and everybody that wants to get vaccine can get it.”

Kern also implored people to be honest when filling out the surveys.

“If you’re filling out these surveys that we have to be able to get a call and to be able to get a shot, some people are being a little liberal with what they do or what their position is,” he said. “ ... If you get a shot and you really shouldn’t be getting one, you’re standing in line in front of someone who truly does qualify.

“We’re just asking for everyone to wait their turn, get their shot when it’s their time and we’ll be able to get through this pandemic with as few people getting sick and dying that we can. The reason for these tiers of who can get the vaccine is based upon the populations that are most vulnerable.”

Blandford, meanwhile, stressed showing up for scheduled vaccine appointments.

“When we open those vials, there’s only so long we have to use that vaccine and, again, we don’t want to waste any doses,” she said.

Overall, 43,354 St. Clair County residents have signed up to be vaccinated, according to county officials Sunday.

Recap of Sunday’s daily press conference

St. Clair County’s positivity rate continued trending in the right direction, officials announced Sunday.

According to IDPH data, the county’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate was 6.4%, marking the eighth consecutive day of being below 8%. Also, the county’s daily positivity rate was 4.1%. This is data as of Thursday.

“We’re now in a position to say the positivity rate is going down and has been doing down for the past couple of weeks,” Kern said. “The positivity rate has been dropping and we want it to continue to drop so more businesses can open. COVID isn’t getting worse according to the numbers. It actually is improving somewhat in our community.”

During Sunday’s daily briefing, officials also took part in a question-answer session.

One question involved a St. Clair County resident who got the first dose in Monroe County. But since, Monroe County’s Facebook page says only Monroe County residents will be vaccinated.

“If a St. Clair County resident got the first dose (in Monroe County) the second dose would be available to them (in Monroe County),” Kern said.

Another question was if the COVID vaccine would be a one-time dose or administered annually similar to a flu shot.

“We would anticipate that it would be annual, but until we have more data and see how it performs in the population, we don’t have a definitive answer at this point,” Blandford said.

Blandford also addressed a question about whether Illinois or St. Clair County is experiencing a vaccine shortage and, if so, how it impacts the vaccination schedule.

“Of course, we have nowhere the amount of vaccine that we wish we had. So the amount determines the timeline on how fast we can get it out to individuals,” she said. “We hope with increased vaccine that we’ll be able to move through those tiers fairly quickly.”

Blandford also was asked when teachers would be vaccinated and if sending children back to school is safe.

“It depends on the availability in the community. We have been working with the ROE (Regional Office of Education) and several groups to figure out how we are going to address that issue. But it’s as vaccine becomes available,” she said of getting teachers vaccinated.

“If you have any concerns about the safety in your school, I’d refer you back to your school and the school board. We know right now that the students are not being vaccinated as for 16 and above, so it’s important that you continue to follow those guidelines and have the children wear masks, wash their hands and social distance,” Blandford added regarding safety.

Another question involved a CDC guideline pushing six weeks between vaccine shots.

“Illinois Department of Public Health is still advocating for the 21 for the Pfizer and 28 for Moderna,” Blandford said.

She also was asked if people still will be wearing masks at the end of 2021.

“We know that right now that we’re not vaccinating those younger populations, so I suspect we will be,” Blandford said.

Vaccine update for metro-east

Nearly 5,000 metro-east residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the latest state data shows.

The total was 4,967 as of Saturday, according to data released Sunday by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Available vaccines require two doses. The total includes only people who have reached both shots.

Across the metro-east’s seven counties, 27,291 shots have been administered, including 194 on Saturday.

The region includes St. Clair, Madison, Clinton, Randolph, Monroe, Bond and Washington counties. Madison County has administered the most shots (9,569) and fully vaccinated the most people (1,891), as of Sunday. St. Clair County, meanwhile, has administered 9,386 shots and fully vaccinated 1,820 individuals.

Here is the percentage of each county’s population considered fully vaccinated with both doses of either vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech or Moderna, according to state data Sunday.

• Clinton County: 1.18%
• Randolph County: 1.09%
• Bond County: 0.79%
• Washington County: 0.81%
• Madison County: 0.72%
• St. Clair County: 0.70%
• Monroe County: 0.63%

While supplies are limited, only select groups are eligible to get vaccinated. The initial phase of Illinois’ vaccine distribution plan, known as Phase 1A, included health care workers and people who live or work in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes.

Vaccinations of the 1A group began in mid-December and have been ongoing since. Phase 1B begins Monday statewide. Those eligible in 1B include people who are 65 years old or older and essential workers.

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, state officials said Friday.

These are the ways to 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 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.)

Business restrictions criteria

The percentage of tests performed in the metro-east that were positive for COVID-19, averaged over a week, dropped to 8.0% on Sunday, down from 8.4% on Saturday, the state announced.

The figure is known as the positivity rate with Sunday’s mark being the lowest since Oct. 19 at 7.8%.

State officials use the percentage of positive tests, an indication of the rate of infection in a community, along with the amount of hospitalizations to decide whether to tighten or relax restrictions on businesses in regions of the state.

The restrictions are known as “resurgence mitigations,” which the state designed in three gradually more strict tiers. The metro-east moved from Tier 3, the most strict, to Tier 2 on Friday.

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.

To move to Tier 1, a region has to meet the following metrics:

• Test positivity rate between 6.5% and 8% for three consecutive days
• Staffed intensive care unit bed availability of 20% or more for three consecutive days
  
  
• No sustained increase in COVID-19 patients in the hospital for seven out of 10 days

Illinois updates each region’s progress daily at dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics.

The state also announced Sunday that 21% of the metro-east’s ICU beds were available — up from 20% on Saturday — and that hospitalizations were either decreasing or remaining stable for eight out of 10 days.

Illinois reports new COVID cases, deaths Sunday

This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The number in parentheses shows the difference from the previous day’s increase or total.

New cases of COVID-19: 3,292 (-1,860)

New deaths: 40 (-57)

New COVID-19 tests: 90,138 (-20,040)

Total cases: 1,101,819

Total deaths: 18,750

Total tests: 15,409,832

Total Illinoisans fully vaccinated against COVID-19: 136,119, or 1.07% of the population

Total vaccine doses administered: 681,473 (+23,653)

Hospitalizations: 2,994 (-127)

People in ICU: 627 (-27)

People on ventilators: 321 (-17)

Statewide positivity rate (from Jan. 17-23): 4.8% (-0.1%)

Sunday’s breakdown for Region 4

New cases: 231 (-93)

New deaths: 5 (+1) (Madison County reported 4 new deaths and St. Clair County reported 1 new death.)

Total vaccines doses administered: 27,291 (+212)

Daily positivity rate (as of Thursday): 6.4% (-2.8%)

7-day average positivity rate (as of Thursday): 8.0% (-0.4%)

Regional hospitalizations: 166 (+6) (provided by St. Clair County)

Regional patients on ventilators: 11 (no change from Saturday) (provided by St. Clair County)

ICU bed availability (as of Saturday): 21% (+1.0%)

New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0

New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0

ST. CLAIR COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: 79 new positives, 1 new death, 1,442 new tests administered, 160 new recoveries, 2 additional patients hospitalized, 1 fewer patient on a ventilator

Total overall: 25,243 positives, 391 deaths, 245,537 tests administered, 23,418 recoveries, 94 patients hospitalized with 4 on ventilators

Vaccines administered: 117 doses Saturday, bringing the total to 9,386

Additional data: Individuals who tested positive ranged in age from under 10 to their 90s. Of the 79 new positives, 41 individuals were under the age of 40.

Congregate living facilities: No new cases or deaths

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 4.1% (-3.7%); 7-day average — 6.4% (-0.5%)

MADISON COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: 144 new positives, 4 new deaths, 1,053 new tests administered, 102 new recoveries, 2 additional patients on ventilators

Total overall: 24,823 positives, 421 deaths, 226,743 tests administered, 15,486 recoveries, 55 patients hospitalized with 7 on ventilators

Vaccines administered: 65 doses Saturday, bringing the total to 9,569

Additional data: Individuals who tested positive ranged from under the age of 10 to their 80s. Of the 144 new positives, 88 individuals were under the age of 40.

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 10.4% (-2.6%); 7-day average — 10.9% (-0.1%)

CLINTON COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 5,145 positives, 78 deaths, 4,708 recoveries, five patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 3 doses Saturday, bringing the total to 3,161

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 10.0% (+3.3%); 7-day average — 9.0% (-0.5%)

RANDOLPH COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 3,819 positives, 69 deaths, 3,630 recoveries, two patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 1 dose Saturday, bringing the total to 2,053

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 2.0% (-1.6%); 7-day average — 5.0% (-0.9%)

MONROE COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: 8 new positives, 1 additional patient hospitalized

Total overall: 3,704 positives, 71 deaths, 32 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 3 doses Saturday, bringing the total to 1,616

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 4.5% (-15.0%); 7-day average — 8.5% (-1.1%)

BOND COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 1,907 positives, 19 deaths, 36,190 tests administered

Vaccines administered: 0 doses Saturday, keeping the total at 802

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 10.8% (-8.1%); 7-day average — 5.8% (+0.9%)

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 1,489 positives, 24 deaths, 1,426 recoveries, one patient hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 5 doses Saturday, bringing the total to 704

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 9.3% (-2.5%); 7-day average — 10.8% (-0.8%)

MACOUPIN COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 4,146 positives, 97 deaths, 2,847 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 210 doses Saturday, bringing the total to 3,057

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 7.7% (+0.9%); 7-day average — 7.2% (-0.2%)

JERSEY COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 2,294 positives, 43 deaths, 22,672 tests administered, 2,159 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 319 doses Saturday, bringing the total to 1,704

Positivity rates (as Thursday): Daily — 2.3% (-5.2%); 7-day average — 8.8% (-0.7%)

PERRY COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 2,873 positives, 52 deaths, 2,566 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 18 doses Saturday, bringing the total to 1,227

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 6.3% (-11.3%); 7-day average — 6.3% (-0.4)

CALHOUN COUNTY

Sunday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 462 positives, 4 deaths, 449 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 2 doses Saturday, bringing the total to 323

Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 7.4% (-2.1%); 7-day average — 6.5% (-1.2%)

Editor’s note: The number of new COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in each county is reported on Mondays and shows the increase for the past week. Information comes from county sources and the Illinois Department of Public Health website.

State, nation, world COVID-19 statistics

Here are the latest available statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map as of Sunday afternoon.

• Illinois: 1,101,819 cases, 18,750 deaths, 15,409,832 tests
  
  
• U.S.: 25,579,523 cases, 427,713 deaths, 15,332,896 recoveries
• World: 99,501,577 cases, 2,133,866 deaths, 71,527,822 recoveries
  
  

Testing sites in southwestern Illinois

Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:

• Monday, Jan. 25: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Godfrey Village Hall, 6810 Godfrey Road.
• Tuesday, Jan. 26: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bond County Fairgrounds, 200 W. College Ave., Greenville.
• Tuesday, Jan. 26: 9 a.m. to noon at First Christian Church, 310 S. Main St., Edwardsville.
• Tuesday, Jan. 26: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 2235 Bond Ave., East St. Louis.
  
  
• Wednesday, Jan. 27: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Clyde Jordan Senior Citizen Center, 6755 State St., East St. Louis.
  
  
• Wednesday, Jan. 27: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Quad City/Mt. Nebo Complex, 1634 Seventh St., Madison.
  
  
• Thursday, Jan. 28: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bond County Fairgrounds, 200 W. College Ave., Greenville.
  
  
• Friday, Jan. 29: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at First United Presbyterian Church, 200 E. Church St., Collinsville.
• Saturday, Jan. 30: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Madison County Health Department, 101 E. Edwardsville Road, Wood River.
• Saturday, Jan. 30: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at McKendree University – The Hett, 400 N. Alton St., Lebanon.
  
  

• Sunday, Jan. 31: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at McKendree University – The Hett, 400 N. Alton St., Lebanon.

• Sunday, Jan. 31: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at New Life in Christ Interdenominational Church, 689 Scott Troy Road, O’Fallon.

• Every Tuesday and Thursday: 9-11 a.m. COVID-19 rapid testing at the Clinton County Fairgrounds, 1899 Methodist St., Carlyle

The testing site at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis has been moved to St. Clair Square mall, in the parking lot behind Dillards. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. It’s a drive-thru with four tents, allowing people to stay in their cars.

The Illinois Department of Public Health will continue to deploy mobile testing teams to locations in East St. Louis, including 4601 State St., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday and Monday. Capacity is limited, and hours of operation are subject to change based on available equipment.

St. Clair County has a new service center at 330 W. Main St. in Belleville. Its regular hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays; and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays.

Touchette Regional Hospital and Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation also offer daily testing in Belleville and Wood River. Call 618-646-2596 for an appointment.

This story was originally published January 24, 2021 at 5:32 PM.