Southwestern Illinois counties approaching 40,000 fully vaccinated residents

Nearly 40,000 individuals have been fully vaccinated in the metro-east as of Wednesday, according to the state.

According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health on Wednesday, Region 4 counties have administered 155,542 vaccinations and fully vaccinated 39,490 people.

St. Clair County had administered the most vaccines in the region with a total of 64,985 as of Wednesday and fully vaccinated the most people with a total of 16,897. Meanwhile, Madison County had administered 57,172 doses and fully vaccinated 12,301 people as of Wednesday.

Vaccinations of healthcare workers and others in the 1A vaccinations group began in mid-December and have been ongoing.

Vaccinations in Phase 1B are 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: Schedule an appointment with the Madison County Health Department at their website: https://www.co.madison.il.us/departments/health/
• 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.)

COVID-19 case rate rises slightly

The rate of new COVID-19 cases in the metro-east went up Wednesday as the Illinois Department of Public Health reported the region’s COVID-19 seven-day average positivity rate increased from 3.8% on Tuesday to 4.0 on Wednesday.

The rate remains below the 6% threshold set by the state that helps determine if COVID-19 mitigation efforts used to slow the spread of the virus need to be increased or relaxed. The rate had been at 3.8% the previous two days — the lowest since June 25 — and has been below 6% for 29 straight days.

Overall, the rate has been steadily dropping since the start of the new year. On Jan 1. , the regional average case rate stood at 13.5%.

The region also reported a daily positivity rate of 3.7% on Wednesday, down from 4.3% on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the availability of intensive care unit beds remained at 31% for a second-straight day Wednesday. The ICU availability is the highest the region has seen since mid-November.

On Thursday, Feb. 4, state health officials announced they were easing indoor dining and other restrictions in the metro-east, moving the region from Tier 2 to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan effective immediately. Additional information about which tier and phase regions are in can be found at the top of the IDPH website homepage.

Phase 4 guidelines include the following:

• Restaurants and bars: Indoor dining and drinking now permitted for parties of up to 10 people. Seated areas should be arranged so that tables allow for 6 feet between parties; impermeable barriers may be installed between booths that are less than 6 feet apart.
• Retail and service counter: Continue capacity limit of no more than 50% occupancy.
• Personal care: Continue capacity limit of no more than 50% occupancy.
• Indoor/outdoor recreation: Reopening select indoor recreation facilities (e.g., bowling alleys, skating rinks); indoor playgrounds and trampoline parks should remain closed; indoor recreation to operate at lesser of 50 customers or 50% of facility capacity.
• Museums: Capacity limit of no more than 25% occupancy; guided tours should be limited to 50 or fewer people per group.
• Meetings and social events: Limit to the lesser of 50 people or 50% of room capacity; multiple groups may meet in the same facility if they are socially distanced and in separate rooms.

The region had to 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 metro-east, or Region 4, consists of Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington counties.

A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.

State of Illinois vaccine update Wednesday

A total of doses of 3,392,925 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 443,700 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 3,836,625. A total of 2,900,341 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 328,795 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 84,202 doses. Tuesday, 82,449 doses were administered in Illinois.

Meanwhile, the state reported Wednesday that 906,490 people — roughly 7.11% of its population — have been fully vaccinated.

For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.

Illinois announces new cases, deaths

The state of Illinois announced 2,104 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total to 1,191,520 since the pandemic began nearly a year ago. The state health department also announced 44 additional deaths making a new total of 20,626 deaths.

Also within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 80,854 new tests have been administered for a total of 18,315,522.

As of Tuesday, when the latest data was available, 1,260 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 275 patients were in the ICU, and 138 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from Feb. 24-March 2 was 2.4%.

Wednesday’s breakdown for Region 4

New cases: 132 (+33)

New deaths: 5 (+1) (St. Clair County reported 3 new deaths and Madison County reported 2 new deaths.)

Total vaccine doses administered (as of Tuesday): 155,943 (+12,943)

Daily positivity rate (as of Sunday): 3.7% (-0.6)

7-day average positivity rate (as of Sunday): 4.0% (+0.2)

Regional hospitalizations: 73 (-9) (provided by St. Clair County)

Regional patients on ventilators: 3 (-1) (provided by St. Clair County)

ICU bed availability (as of Tuesday): 31% (no change)

ST. CLAIR COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 53 new positives, 3 new deaths, 935 new tests administered, 92 recoveries, 2 fewer patients hospitalized, 2 fewer patients on ventilators

Total overall: 28,165 positives, 453 deaths, 288,288 tests administered, 27,173 recoveries, 43 patients hospitalized with 2 patients on ventilators.

Vaccines administered: 2,839 doses Tuesday, bringing the total to 64,985

% of population fully vaccinated: 6.47%

Additional data: People who tested positive ranged from under the age of 11 to their 80s. Of the 53 new positives, 24 were under the age of 40.

Congregate living facilities: Knollwood St. Clair Retirement Center of Caseyville reported 1 new case; Mercy Rehab and Care Center in Swansea reported 1 new case; and St. Paul’s Home in Belleville reported 1 new death.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 3.2% (-1.0); 7-day average — 4.0% (+0.3)

MADISON COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 50 new positives, 2 new deaths, 833 new tests administered, 216 new recoveries, 5 fewer patients hospitalized, 1 fewer patient on a ventilator

Total overall: 27,640 positives, 461 deaths, 263,611 tests administered, 25,882 recoveries, 23 patients hospitalized with 1 patient on ventilators.

Vaccines administered: 4,070 doses Tuesday, bringing the total to 57,172

Additional data: People who tested positive ranged from under the age of 10 to their 90s. Of the 50 new positives, 23 were under the age of 40.

% of population fully vaccinated: 4.65%

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 7.0% (+1.4); 7-day average — 5.9% (+0.3)

CLINTON COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data (includes data from Feb. 26-March 2): 12 new positives, 29 new recoveries, 2 fewer patients hospitalized

Total overall: 5,578 positives, 89 deaths, 5,449 recoveries, 2 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 127 doses Tuesday, bringing the total to 10,131

% of population fully vaccinated: 8.87%

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 0.0% (-2.1); 7-day average — 1.5% (-0.4)

RANDOLPH COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 7 new positives, 4 new recoveries

Total overall: 3,991 positives, 82 deaths, 3,888 recoveries, 2 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 142 doses Tuesday, bringing the total to 7,924

% of population fully vaccinated: 8.46%

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 0.7% (-6.4); 7-day average — 1.3% (+0.1)

MONROE COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 2 new positives

Total overall: 4,099 positives, 93 deaths, 11 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 579 doses Tuesday, bringing the total to 8,217

% of population fully vaccinated: 6.54%

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 6.9% (+3.9); 7-day average — 3.5% (-0.1)

BOND COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 6 new positives, 2,153 new tests administered

Total overall: 2,072 positives, 21 deaths, 45,561 tests administered

Vaccines administered: 194 doses Tuesday, bringing the total to 3,798

% of population fully vaccinated: 6.83%

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 6.3% (+5.4); 7-day average — 1.5% (+0.1)

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data (includes data from March 2): 2 new positives, 9 new recoveries

Total overall: 1,595 positives, 27 deaths, 1,568 recoveries

Vaccines administered: 83 doses Tuesday, bringing the total to 3,315

% of population fully vaccinated: 6.13%

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 7.7% (+4.4); 7-day average — 5.8% (+0.5)

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 Wednesday

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: 2,104 (+527)

New deaths: 44 (-3)

New COVID-19 tests: 80,854 (+24,673)

Total cases: 1,191,520

Total deaths: 20,626

Total tests: 18,315,522

Total Illinoisans fully vaccinated against COVID-19: 906,490 (+70,893) — or 7.11% of the population

Total vaccine doses administered: 2,900,341 (+82,449)

Hospitalizations: 1,260 (+29)

People in ICU: 275 (-6)

People on ventilators: 138 (-10)

Statewide positivity rate (from Feb. 24-March 2): 2.4% (no change)

Nation, world COVID-19 statistics

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

• U.S.: 29,370,705 cases, 529,214 deaths, 19,905,322 recoveries
  
  
• World: 115,302,074 cases, 2,560,647 deaths, 91,127,380 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 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 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 March 3, 2021 at 1:04 PM.