COVID-19 cases, deaths, hospitalizations & vaccinations rise in St. Clair County

Cases and deaths of COVID-19 continue to spike in St. Clair County.

For the week of Aug. 12-18, St. Clair County reported 857 new cases, up from 775 a week ago. The county also announced eight new deaths Wednesday — the age range spanning from people in their 30s to their 90s — up from two the previous week.

This week alone, health officials reported 325 cases and three deaths Monday; 99 cases and three deaths Tuesday; and 158 cases and two deaths Wednesday.

The county also surpassed 500 deaths — 501 total — with the two reported Wednesday. Overall, the county has reported 35,612 cases since the pandemic began.

As cases and deaths rise in the county, Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons continued to stress getting vaccinated Wednesday.

“Do your research. Call your family physician and ask them,” he said during the county’s weekly COVID briefing. “They’re going to tell you if you are a candidate for the vaccine. I don’t know any physician who’s not going to tell you their honest medical condition. You have all the resources. It’s the best tool we have in our tool box, so please use that tool.

“There’s no reason out there why, that I can think of, that you wouldn’t want to be a part of this solution. When you hear these numbers, when you hear in our county alone today, 501 people have lost their lives to this. I don’t want to hear about how these are false numbers. These are numbers that are compiled. These are confirmed numbers.”

Hospitalization numbers also continued to spike as St. Clair County on Wednesday reported 77 patients admitted due to COVID, up from 61 last week. Additionally, the number of patients on a ventilator increased from five last week to seven this week.

St. Clair County is part of what the Illinois Department of Public Health classifies as Region 4, which also includes Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, and Washington counties.

And, regionally, the number of patients hospitalized jumped from 124 last week to 160, county officials reported Wednesday, with the individuals on a ventilator increasing from 14 last week to 17 this week.

Additionally, county health officials continue to see high case numbers among the younger population, but those figures did dip a bit from last week.

• 56% of current positive cases are under 40. Last week, that number was reported at 63% from the previous four weeks.
• 24% of current positive cases are under 21. That figure was at 26% last week.
• 8% of current positive cases are under 10. That figure was at 12% last week.

Testing, vaccines & Madison County data

St. Clair County Health Department Director Myla Blandfard also addressed testing and vaccination trends. According to Blandford, from Aug. 10-17, the county’s vaccination rate nearly doubled. Nearly 45% of the population is fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Blandford said, in July, the county completed about 20,000 tests for the month, and that figure already has reached 16,000 for August.

Both trends are encouraging, Blandford noted.

“IDPH does a regular analysis of the tests that we’re conducting for our region and they’ve determined it is sufficient — the amount of testing we’re conducting,” Blandford said. “We’re seeing an increase in testing and vaccination for our area. I think the word is definitely out. We’re trying to combat some misinformation that’s out there. We’re advertising. There’s lots of locations for testing. There’s lots of locations for vaccine in our community.”

Blandford expects the vaccination numbers will continue rising.

“It’s good that we are seeing an uptick,” she said. “And, again, as we move closer to the full approval of the vaccine (by the FDA) I think we’ll see an increase again in vaccine across our area. It’s the best tool we have in our tool belt.”

Added St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern, “It’s available. It’s there. We’ve all had it. It’s proven safe. Hundreds of millions of doses have been given out. And so it’s really time for everybody to get vaccinated.”

Meanwhile, nearby Madison County reported 137 new COVID cases Wednesday, bringing the total to 34,118 since the pandemic began. They also announced two new deaths Wednesday for a total of 543. Overall, that represents an increase of 753 new cases and four new deaths the past week.

The Madison County Health Department also reported 60 patients hospitalized due to COVID, up from 47 last week. Additionally, the county reported 11 individuals on ventilators, up from seven a week ago.

COVID-19 vaccine in St. Clair County

Local health departments and pharmacies continue to offer the shot.

In St. Clair County, along with the location at 330 W. Main St. in Belleville, here are new vaccination opportunities.

• Monday, Aug. 23: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Southwestern Illinois College, 2500 Carlyle Ave., Belleville.
  
  
• Tuesday, Aug. 24: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at McKendree University, 701 College Road, Lebanon.

• Wednesday, Aug. 25: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at McKendree University, 701 College Road, Lebanon.

• Thursday, Aug. 26: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Freeburg Township Office, 203 S. Richland St.

This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 9:30 AM.