Nearly 5,000 people in southwestern Illinois now fully vaccinated against COVID-19
Nearly 5,000 metro-east residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the latest state data shows.
The total was 4,902 as of Friday. Available vaccines require two doses. The total includes only people who have reached both shots.
Across the metro-east’s seven counties, 27,079 shots have been administered, including 1,828 on Friday.
The region includes St. Clair, Madison, Clinton, Randolph, Monroe, Bond and Washington counties.
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:
- Clinton County: 1.18%
- Randolph County: 1.09%
- Bond County: 0.79%
- Washington County: 0.79%
- Madison County: 0.70%
- St. Clair County: 0.69%
- Monroe County: 0.62%
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, remained the same at 8.4% for the third consecutive day, the state announced on Saturday.
The figure is known as the positivity rate.
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 metro-east is referred to as Region 4.
The state announced Saturday that 20% of the metro-east’s ICU beds were available and that hospitalizations were either decreasing or remaining stable for eight out of 10 days.
Illinois reports new COVID cases, deaths Saturday
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: 5,152 (-1,890)
New deaths: 97 (+2)
New COVID-19 tests: 110,178 (-15,653)
Total cases: 1,098,527
Total deaths: 18,711
Total tests: 15,319,694
Total Illinoisans fully vaccinated against COVID-19: 133,949, or 1.05% of the population
Total vaccines doses administered: 657,820 (+41,143)
Hospitalizations: 3,121 (-58)
People in ICU: 644 (-17)
People on ventilators: 338 (-10)
Saturday’s breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 328
New deaths: 4
Total vaccines doses administered: 27,079 (+1,828)
Daily positivity rate (as of Wednesday): 9.2% (-1)
7-day average positivity rate (as of Wednesday): 8.4% (no change)
Regional hospitalizations: 160 (-15) (provided by St. Clair County)
Regional patients on ventilators: 11 (no change) (provided by St. Clair County)
ICU bed availability (as of Friday): 20% (-1)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 178 positives out of 1,264 tests, one death, 168 recoveries
Total overall: 25,164 positives, 390 deaths, 244,095 tests administered, 23,258 recoveries, 92 patients hospitalized with five on ventilators
Vaccines administered: 733 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 9,251
Additional data: Individuals who tested positive ranged in age from under 1 to 90s. Of the 178 new positives, 90 individuals were under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: Integrity Healthcare of Belleville reported one new death, and Sycamore Village in Swansea reported one new case.
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 7.8% (-3.9); 7-day average — 6.9% (no change)
MADISON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 134 positives out of 1,899 tests, three deaths, 82 recoveries
Total overall: 24,679 positives, 417 deaths, 225,690 tests administered, 15,384 recoveries, 55 patients hospitalized with five on ventilators
Vaccines administered: 360 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 9,504
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 13% (+2.6); 7-day average — 10.9% (+0.3)
CLINTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 5,145 positives, 78 deaths, 4,708 recoveries, five patients hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 499 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 3,158
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 6.7% (-6.3); 7-day average — 9.5% (+0.8)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: four positives
Total overall: 3,819 positives, 69 deaths, 3,630 recoveries, two patients hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 54 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 2,052
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 3.6% (-6.3); 7-day average — 5.9% (-0.7)
MONROE COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 12 positives
Total overall: 3,696 positives, 71 deaths, 31 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 91 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 1,613
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 19.5% (+12.9); 7-day average — 9.6% (+0.1)
BOND COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,907 positives, 19 deaths, 36,190 tests administered
Vaccines administered: 56 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 802
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 2.7% (-1.2); 7-day average — 4.9% (-1.6)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,489 positives, 24 deaths, 1,426 recoveries, one patient hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 35 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 699
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 11.8% (+0.3); 7-day average — 11.6% (-1.7)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 4,146 positives, 97 deaths, 2,847 recoveries
Vaccines administered: 245 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 2,860
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 6.8% (+0.7); 7-day average — 7.4% (-0.1)
JERSEY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data (Jan. 21-23): 52 positives out of 653 tests, one death, 59 recoveries
Total overall: 2,294 positives, 43 deaths, 22,672 tests administered, 2,159 recoveries
Vaccines administered: 58 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 1,385
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 7.5% (+1.7); 7-day average — 9.5% (+0.7)
PERRY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 2,873 positives, 52 deaths, 2,566 recoveries
Vaccines administered: 85 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 1,209
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 17.6% (+15.3); 7-day average — 6.7% (+0.5)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 462 positives, four deaths, 449 recoveries
Vaccines administered: 6 doses on Friday, bringing the total to 321
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 9.5% (+2.8); 7-day average — 7.7% (-1.6)
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 Saturday afternoon.
- Illinois: 1,098,527 cases, 18,711 deaths
- U.S.: 24,962,813 cases, 416,907 deaths
- World: 98,572,942 cases, 2,116,294 deaths, 54,359,532 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:
- 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 23, 2021 at 7:21 PM.
