St. Clair, Madison near 100,000 full COVID-19 vaccinations as IL worries over resurgence
COVID-19 summary for Friday, March 26
According to data released by the Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday,the metro-east region has now fully vaccinated 123,305 people and administered at least one dose of the vaccine to 291,841 individuals.
Meanwhile, Madison County has administered 117,414 COVID-19 vaccines and fully vaccinated 50,633 residents, and St. Clair County has administered 114,249 vaccines and fully vaccinated 49,086 individuals.
Overall, the two counties have combined to vaccinate 231,663 people and fully vaccinate 99,719 against the coronavirus.
On Friday, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike warned that the state could be on the path to another COVID-19 resurgence.
Since March 8 and through Friday, the state has seen 10 days of increases in the seven-day rolling average for hospital admissions. The state’s COVID-19 test positivity rate has risen from 2.5% on March 10 to 3.3% on Friday.
“We don’t want to go down the same path we’ve seen before and experience a resurgence in the pandemic, which is why Governor Pritzker directed us to use all our resources to halt these upticks,” Ezike said. “We cannot move forward if our metrics are going backward. The vaccine will help get us to the end of the pandemic, but we need to continue to reduce the spread of the virus by wearing a mask, avoiding large crowds, keeping six feet of distance, getting tested after seeing others, and getting vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Illinois health officials are sending “rapid response” teams to some parts of the state with low vaccination interest and is allowing counties to expand vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 years or older.
In total, nearly 2 million Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated.
Also on Friday, the state health department listed metro-east Region 4 as having a seven-day average positivity rate of 3.2%, up from 3.1% on Thursday. The state reported a daily positivity rate of 4.2%, up from 2.6.% on Thursday.
Friday’s breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 122 (+49)
New deaths: 6 (+4) (Madison County reported 4 deaths and St. Clair County reported 2 deaths)
Total vaccine doses administered (as of Thursday): 291,841 (+4,437)
Daily positivity rate (as of Tuesday): 4.2% (+0.6)
7-day average positivity rate (as of Tuesday): 3.2% (+0.1)
Regional hospitalizations: 65 (+12) (provided by St. Clair County)
Regional patients on ventilators: 4 (no change) (provided by St. Clair County)
ICU bed availability (as of Thursday): 31% (-2.0)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 43 new positives, 2 new deaths, 909 new tests administered, 48 new recoveries, 1 fewer patient on a ventilator
Total overall: 29,941 positives, 469 deaths, 309,749 tests administered, 28,360 recoveries, 29 patients hospitalized with 4 patients on a ventilator
Vaccines administered: 177 doses Thursday, bringing the total to 114,249
% of population fully vaccinated: 18.80%
Congregate living facilities: Cedar Trails of Freeburg reported one new case
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 5.0% (+3.3); 7-day average — 2.5% (+0.1)
MADISON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 76 new positives (57 confirmed, 19 probable), 4 new deaths, 981 new tests administered
Total overall: 28,563 positives, 480 deaths, 282,466 tests administered, 28,065 recoveries, 24 patients hospitalized with 1 patients on a ventilator
Vaccines administered: 2,690 doses Thursday, bringing the total to 117,414
% of population fully vaccinated: 19.15%
Positivity rate (as of Tuesday): Daily — 6.4% (+0.3); 7-day average — 5.4% (+0.4)
CLINTON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 3 new positives
Total overall: 5,661 positives, 89 deaths, 5,544 recoveries, 0 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 638 doses Thursday, bringing the total to 17,861
% of population fully vaccinated: 18.93%
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 2.2% (-1.6); 7-day average — 2.9% (-0.3)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 4,039 positives, 83 deaths, 3,940 recoveries, 1 patient hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 278 doses Thursday, bringing the total to 12,858
% of population fully vaccinated: 16.12%
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 1.3% (+1.3); 7-day average — 1.8% (+0.1)
MONROE COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 4,203 positives, 101 deaths, 2 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 173 doses Thursday, bringing the total to 15,901
% of population fully vaccinated: 17.10%
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 8.2% (+3.7); 7-day average — 5.6% (+0.4)
BOND COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 2,075 positives, 21 deaths, 46,628 tests administered
Vaccines administered: 110 doses Thursday, bringing the total to 6,694
% of population fully vaccinated: 15.29%
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 0.5% (-3.7); 7-day average — 0.4% (no change)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 1,618 positives, 29 deaths, 1,592 recoveries, 0 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 111 doses Thursday, bringing the total to 6,601
% of population fully vaccinated: 20.54%
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 4.0% (+0.6); 7-day average — 3.4% (-0.1)
Illinois reports new COVID cases, deaths Friday
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: 3,002 (+812)
New deaths: 33 (-2)
New COVID-19 tests: 76,774 (-13,327)
Total cases: 1,232,900
Total deaths: 21,203
Total tests: 19,972,391
Total Illinoisans fully vaccinated against COVID-19: 1,963,630 (+41,635) — or 15.41% of the population
Total vaccine doses administered: 5,281,618 (+126,710)
Hospitalizations: 1,302 (+51)
People in ICU: 264 (-3)
People on ventilators: 120 (+11)
Statewide positivity rate (from March 19-25): 3.3% (+0.1)
Nation, world COVID-19 statistics
Here are the latest available statistics from the Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map and Worldometer as of Friday afternoon:
- U.S.: 30,704,292cases, 558,422 deaths, 23,132,879 recoveries
- World: 125,454,721 cases, 2,757,158 deaths, 101,312,279 recoveries
Testing in southwestern Illinois, change at St. Clair Square site
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. The facility previously was open daily. Now, per county health officials, it will be open Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Saturday, still from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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 26, 2021 at 4:02 PM.