Belle-Clair Fairground mass vaccination site to close for Easter Sunday
The Belle-Clair Fairgrounds mass COVID-19 vaccination site will be closed Sunday for Easter, according to St. Clair County officials.
It will reopen Monday morning, officials said at their daily COVID-19 briefing on Fridday.
Vaccination appointments can be made online at www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/health-department or by calling 618-509-6010.
Officials ask for caution over Easter weekend
Meanwhile, during the daily briefing, County Board Chairman Mark Kern asked that residents follow COVID-19 safety guidelines over the Easter weekend, as cases and hospitalizations spike across the state.
“We’ve got to continue to head downward,” Kern said. “Luckily St. Clair County’s numbers continue to go down, which is a good thing. But people have to be vigilant, especially with the holiday weekend coming.”
He said people who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 should be especially safe and that anyone who is feeling sick and showing symptoms should get tested for the virus.
“If you think you’ve been exposed please get tested, this virus hasn’t changed. It still can be transmitted,” Kern said. “We have to get through May. Once we get through, May we’re going to be better off.”
Kern said the region’s 7-day average COVID-19 positivity dropped on Friday from 3.3% to 3.2%, bucking a trend in other parts of Illinois where COVID-19 cases are increasing. The region’s intensive care unit availability also increased Friday, from 29% to 31%.
County Emergency Management Agency Assistant Director Bryan Whitaker said the county’s aggressive vaccination plan has most likely kept the case rate and hospitalizations down, unlike the northern part of the state that is seeing a boost in both metrics.
“St. Clair County being so far ahead of the vaccine administration is helping us keep those new strains out of our county,” he said.
On Thursday, the state reported 3,526 new confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, the highest one-day total since Feb. 5. On Friday the state reported fewer new cases - a total of 3,235. Increasing metrics are keeping Illinois under current coronavirus restrictions, despite having vaccinated 70% of Illinoisans over the age of 65, a key metric in moving into the phase that would lead to a full reopening of the state.
County focusing on increasing demand
As of Friday, the county had administered 130,830 vaccine doses and fully vaccinated 54,881 people — or 21% of the county. Recently Kern said the vaccination effort in St. Clair County is shifting from a focus on supply to a new focus on demand.
During a recent virtual town hall on COVID-19 vaccinations, Kern said many people don’t know that anyone over 16 years old who lives or works in Illinois is eligible, or they have trouble scheduling an appointment.
“I don’t even think it’s a question of the shots anymore,” Kern said. “I think it’s a question of demand, and getting people there.”