Coronavirus

Do you need a COVID-19 vaccination? Madison, St. Clair counties have several options

By Garen Vartanian

As COVID-19 cases increase across the region again, people looking for a location to get vaccinated have plenty of options in Madison and St. Clair counties.

Despite mass vaccination sites in both counties now being closed, residents can select from several other sites to get their shots.

In St. Clair County, the location at 330 W. Main St. in Belleville is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. People can use the drive-up option for the Pfizer vaccine, but need an appointment for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

Additional options include chain stores such as Walgreens and CVS or local pharmacies like the Freeburg Pharmacy and the Smithton Pharmacy. There is walk-in availability, but appointments are recommended.

Mike McManus, president of Memorial Hospital, spoke at St. Clair County’s briefing Wednesday and stressed the importance of getting vaccinated.

“The No. 1 preventative measure to prevent another surge is vaccination. You know as a county, we’re not where we need to be. We can’t stress this enough. It’s readily available.”

Added St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern: “It’s pretty clear if people aren’t vaccinated, they’re a big part of the reason we’re seeing this spike in the county, which we hope doesn’t cause us to go backwards in opening. The vast number of people who aren’t vaccinated can be vaccinated.”

St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons also implored people to get vaccinated.

“We’ve got to keep our guard up. If we don’t convince these people who haven’t been vaccinated out there to be a part of the solution, we will find ourselves going backwards. I’m concerned we’re traveling in the wrong way. If you haven’t gotten vaccinated, get vaccinated,” he said.

Amy Yeager, director of community health public information officer for the Madison County Health Department, said Wednesday residents have several options for getting vaccinated.

She said all the pharmacies in the county, specifically all the Walgreens and CVS locations, are giving the vaccine.

“I would suggest calling the pharmacy ahead of time to see what they say — if you need an appointment or not,” Yeager said.

Yeager also recommended calling local pediatrician offices.

“A lot of the pediatrician offices in our county have the vaccine,” Yeager said. “A lot of them are giving the vaccine to people who aren’t even their patients.”

Yeager stressed the importance of getting vaccinated amid rising COVID numbers in the region.

“We don’t care where people get vaccinated, as long as they get vaccinated. It’s a community effort at this point to get vaccinated. It’s still very important to get vaccinated since rates in our region are going up. If you’re not vaccinated, please get vaccinated. That protects not just you but the whole community,” she said.

In Madison County, the following vaccination clinics are set up:

Walk-ins are welcome. But appointments preferred.

“There’s a lot of options for people to get vaccinated,” Yeager said. “And it’s free; don’t let anyone charge you for the vaccine.”

Yeager noted the most frequently asked question the department receives is where and when people can get the vaccine, while adding, at present, there are no plans for mass vaccination sites to open.

Vaccinations are again at the forefront due to the surge of the Delta strain across the country.

The Delta Variant is a form of COVID-19 that Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Disease, recently described as the “greatest threat” to the effort of stopping COVID-19.

The variant was first detected in India late last year and is 50 to 60% more transmissible than the alpha strain of the virus. States with below-average vaccination rates have almost triple the rate of new COVID-19 cases compared to states with above-average vaccination rates, according to new data from Johns Hopkins University.

Region 4, St. Clair & Madison counties

On Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported the seven counties that make up the metro-east — defined as Region 4 by state agencies — saw its new COVID-19, 7-day average testing positivity rate rise to 5.1%. That’s the highest the positivity rate has been since Feb. 11, roughly a week after restrictions on indoor dining had been lifted in the metro-east.

In St. Clair County, the 7-day average of new cases had reached 5.5% as of Wednesday. That’s up from 2.9% on May 28. In Madison County, the 7-day average stood at 6.1% Tuesday, up from 2.8% on May 28.

Nearly 49% of Illinois residents — or 6.2 million people — has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In St. Clair County, the percentage of the population that has been fully vaccinated is 40.38%. In Madison County, that rate stands at 42.18%.

Here is a breakdown of people who have been fully vaccinated and the 7-day average positivity rate for the Region 4 counties, according to data released by the Illinois Department of Public Health on Wednesday.

Region 4

  • 265,852 people have been fully vaccinated out of 660,225 residents
  • 7-day average positivity rate is 5.1%

Bond County

  • 5,575 people have been fully vaccinated or 33.52% of the population
  • 7-day average positivity rate is 2.1%

Clinton County

  • 15,681 people have been fully vaccinated or 41.66% of the population
  • 7-day average positivty rate is 2.1%

Madison County

  • 111,540 people have been fully vaccinated, or 42.18% of the population
  • 7-day average positivity rate is 6.1%

Monroe County

  • 15,800 people have been fully vaccinated, or 46.02% of the population
  • 7-day average positivity rate is 4.1%

Randolph County

  • 11,679 people have been fully vaccinated, or 36.38% of the population
  • 7-day average positivity rate is 3.6%

St. Clair County

  • 105,415 people have been fully vaccinated, or 40.38% of the population
  • 7-day average positivity rate is 5.5%

Washington County

  • 5,737 people have been fully vaccinated, or 40.99% of the population
  • 7-day average positivity rate is 3.6%
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