St. Clair County surpasses 50,000 COVID-19 vaccinations as cases in southwest IL drop

COVID summary for Thursday, Feb. 25

According to data released by the Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday, St. Clair County has now administered more than 50,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The region, meanwhile, had administered 118,949 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and fully vaccinated 24,129 residents as of Thursday. Also, according to data from the state, 130,021 doses were administered in Illinois on Wednesday, marking the highest reported amount of vaccines administered to date.

Also on Thursday, the Illinois Department of Public Health listed metro-east Region 4 as having a seven-day average positivity rate of 4.3%, up slightly from 4.1% on Wednesday. The region also reported a daily positivity rate of 6.5%, up from 2.4% on Wednesday. These rates are based on data collected through Monday.

Region 4’s intensive care unit bed availability dipped slightly from 27% on Tuesday to 26% on Wednesday, but is still above the state’s threshold of 20%.

Thursday’s breakdown for Region 4

New cases: 109 (-50)

New deaths: 2 (no change) (Monroe County reported 2 new deaths.)

Total vaccine doses administered (as of Thursday): 120,846 (+8,113)

Daily positivity rate (as of Monday): 6.5% (+4.1)

7-day average positivity rate (as of Monday): 4.3% (+0.2)

Regional hospitalizations: 100 (-3) (provided by St. Clair County)

Regional patients on ventilators: 7 (-1) (provided by St. Clair County)

ICU bed availability (as of Wednesday): 25% (-1.0)

New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4 (includes Macoupin County’s data from Feb. 24): 16 (-1)

New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0

ST. CLAIR COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 63 new positives, 0 new deaths, 1,461 new tests administered, 57 new recoveries, 3 fewer patients hospitalized, 1 fewer patient on a ventilator

Total overall: 27,820 positives, 445 deaths, 282,941 tests administered, 26,812 recoveries, 65 patients hospitalized with 2 patients on ventilators

Vaccines administered: 1,809 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 50,587

% of population fully vaccinated: 3.60%

Additional data: People who tested positive ranged from under the age of 10 to their 80s. Of the 63 new positives, 28 were under the age of 40.

Congregate living facilities: No changes from Wednesday

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 7.5% (+5.5); 7-day average — 4.2% (+0.4)

MADISON COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 30 new positives, 0 new deaths, 1,087 new tests administered, 362 new recoveries, 2 additional hospitalizations

Total overall: 27,369 positives, 458 deaths, 258,729 tests administered, 24,328 recoveries, 25 patients hospitalized with 5 patients on ventilators

Vaccines administered: 767 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 41,790

% of population fully vaccinated: 3.45%

Additional data: People who tested positive ranged from under the age of 10 to their 80s. Of the 30 new positives, 15 were under the age of 40.

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 5.3% (+1.1); 7-day average — 6.2% (-0.1)

CLINTON COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 5,556 positives, 89 deaths, 5,420 recoveries, 4 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 202 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 9.119

% of population fully vaccinated: 7.36%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 4.4% (-0.8); 7-day average — 2.5% (+0.3)

RANDOLPH COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 1 new positive

Total overall: 3,974 positives, 82 deaths, 3,874 recoveries, 3 patient hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 531 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 6,793

% of population fully vaccinated: 6.99%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 3.3% (+3.3); 7-day average — 1.3% (+0.2)

MONROE COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 15 new positives, 2 new deaths, 2 fewer patients hospitalized

Total overall: 4,076 positives, 91 deaths, 16 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 401 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 6,617

% of population fully vaccinated: 4.36%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 13.0% (+7.1); 7-day average — 4.6% (-0.4)

BOND COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 2,057 positives, 21 deaths, 43,408 tests administered

Vaccines administered: 150 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 3,198

% of population fully vaccinated: 4.39%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 8.0% (+8.0); 7-day average — 1.9% (+0.2)

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 1,585 positives, 27 deaths, 1,559 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 106 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 2,742

% of population fully vaccinated: 4.45%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 10.5% (+10.5); 7-day average — 9.9% (+0.5)

MACOUPIN COUNTY

Thursday’s new data (includes data from Feb. 24): 16 new positives, 58 new recoveries

Total overall: 4,495 positives, 108 deaths, 3,870 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 1,064 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 11,020

% of population fully vaccinated: 8.24%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 1.3% (+3.9); 7-day average — 3.7% (-0.2)

JERSEY COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 2,466 positives, 45 deaths, 25,755 tests administered, 2,413 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 102 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 5,405

% of population fully vaccinated: 5.57%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 7.4% (+3.); 7-day average — 3.3% (no change)

PERRY COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 3,145 positives, 60 deaths, 3,042 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 219 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 3,321

% of population fully vaccinated: 4.78%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 7.1% (+4.4); 7-day average —2.5% (+0.2)

CALHOUN COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 491 positives, 5 deaths, 482 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 0 doses Wednesday, keeping the total at 1,125

% of population fully vaccinated: 6.37%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 10.5% (+10.5); 7-day average — 6.6% (-0.2)

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.

Illinois reports new COVID cases, deaths Thursday

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: 1,184 (-138)

New deaths: 32 (-12)

New COVID-19 tests: 91,292 (+8,316)

Total cases: 1,181,226

Total deaths: 20,406

Total tests: 17,895,829

Total Illinoisans fully vaccinated against COVID-19: 671,717 (+52,237) — or 5.27% of the population

Total vaccine doses administered: 2,440,950 (+130,021)

Hospitalizations: 1,63 (-48)

People in ICU: 334 (-4)

People on ventilators: 168 (-4)

Statewide positivity rate (from Feb. 18-24): 2.5% (-0.1)

Nation, world COVID-19 statistics

Here are the latest available statistics from the Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map as of Thursday afternoon.

• U.S.: 28,974,623 cases, 518,363 deaths, 19,340,329 recoveries
  
  
• World: 113,123,466 cases, 2,509,229 deaths, 88,736,508 recoveries
  
  

Testing sites in southwestern Illinois

Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:

• Saturday, Feb. 27: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Madison County Health Department, 101 E. Edwardsville Road, Wood River.
  
  

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

The Illinois Department of Public Health will continue to deploy mobile testing teams to locations in East St. Louis, including 4601 State St., 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.

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 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. It’s a drive-thru with four tents, allowing people to stay in their cars.

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

COVID-19 definition key

• Region 4: The state-defined metro-east region includes St. Clair, Madison, Clinton, Monroe, Randolph, Bond and Washington counties.
• Daily positivity rate: The percentage of tests performed in a single day that were positive for COVID-19. Source: dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics
• 7-day average positivity rate: The number of positive tests in a week, divided by the total number of tests performed during the same period. It is one measure Illinois uses to determine whether restrictions should be strengthened or loosened because it gives an indication of the infection rate in a community. The state-defined target is 8% or less. Source: dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics
• Hospitalizations: The number of patients in the hospital who have COVID-19 or are suspected of having the disease.
• ICU bed availability: The number of staffed intensive-care unit beds that are empty over seven days, divided by the total number of beds in the region. It is another measure the state uses to make decisions about restrictions. The state-defined target is 20% or more. Source: dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics
• Vaccine doses administered: The number of shots provided to individuals. Authorized COVID-19 vaccines require two shots. Source: dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccinedata
• % of population vaccinated: The number of county residents who have received both shots of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine, divided by the county’s total population. Source: dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccinedata

This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 5:03 PM.