Southwest Illinois hospital data shows the impact of COVID-19 on unvaccinated people

The latest data from local medical facilities continues to show unvaccinated individuals stand a higher chance of being hospitalized than vaccinated people if they catch the COVID-19 virus.

During Wednesday’s weekly COVID-19 briefing, St. Clair County Health Department Director Myla Blandford presented a joint graphic from Touchette Regional Hospital, Memorial Hospital and HSHS St. Elizabeth’s hospital breaking down overall hospitalizations, ICU patients and those on ventilators among vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

Here were the results:

• Hospitalizations: 70 people total hospitalized, with 50 of them unvaccinated.
• ICU: 18 individuals total in the ICU, with 15 of them unvaccinated.
• Ventilators: Five people on ventilators, with four of them unvaccinated.

Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons said those figures represent all the more reason to get the shot.

“Those numbers are astounding when you look at hospitalizations,” he said. “Our first responders are worn out. They need a break. We want these numbers to go down, and we can do that by people getting vaccinated and helping be a part of that solution.”

Added Blandford, “That’s a good visual graphic to let everyone know where we’re at here locally with hospitalizations.”

Blandford hopes the Food and Drug Administration officially approving the Pfizer vaccine Monday eliminates one roadblock for those on the fence.

“If that was one of the lingering issues people had to receive vaccine, they’ll take that information and go and receive their vaccine,” she said.

Simmons was more blunt, essentially alluding to goalpost shifting.

“There are some people who were out there waiting all this time, saying they were waiting for the FDA approval. Well, now there’s no excuse, that’s been done. I hope that we don’t see individuals looking for another excuse,” he said.

St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern added he’s hopeful the FDA will provide full approval of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines in the next 30 days.

Also during Wednesday’s briefing, Blandford addressed a question about what you should do if you lose your vaccination card.

She offered multiple options, including going to Vax Verify, reaching out to the Illinois Department of Public Health, or calling the St. Clair County Health Department.

“At Vax Verify, you do have to go on and set up and account, but then you can print out all your immunization records,” she said. “It’s a handy tool to have. If all else fails, you can call the health department and we’ll assist you with that as well.”

Latest numbers from St. Clair, Madison counties

St. Clair County saw a sharp decrease in cases from last week and a slight drop in deaths.

Overall, the county officials announced 773 new COVID-19 cases for the week of Aug. 19-25 — down from 857 the previous week — and seven new deaths — down from eight the week prior. Overall, the county now has 36,385 cases since the pandemic began and 508 deaths.

Hospitalization numbers also decreased slightly from the previous week, dropping from 77 to 75, health officials reported Wednesday. The number of patients on ventilators also fell — from seven last week to five this week.

“Hopefully this trend we’re seeing — going down this week — will continue, and it will if everyone steps up to the plate and gets vaccinated,” Simmons said.

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 dropped from 160 last week to 152 this week, county officials reported Wednesday, with people on a ventilator decreasing from 17 last week to 16 this week.

Additionally, St. Clair County health officials continue to see high case numbers among the younger population:

• 56% of current positive cases are under 40, the same as last week.
• 25% of current positive cases are under 21, up from 24% last week.
• 11% of current positive cases are under 10, up from 8% last week.

Meanwhile, nearby Madison County reported 124 new cases Wednesday, bringing the total to 34,835 since the pandemic began. The county also announced one new death Wednesday for a total of 550. Overall, that represents an increase of 717 new cases and seven new deaths the past week.

The Madison County Health Department also reported 57 patients hospitalized due to COVID, down from 60 last week. Additionally, the county reported 10 individuals on ventilators, down from 11 a week ago.

Region 4 positivity rates

Despite some relatively encouraging trends, every county in the metro-east has been placed on the state health department’s COVID-19 warning list, which tracks the spread and impact of COVID-19.

Positivity rate is one key metric the agency measures to determine whether to reinstate restrictions.

Below are some trends for Region 4 from Aug. 19-25, according to data released by the state health department Wednesday.

• The positivity rate for Region 4 as a whole dropped.
• Two counties reported double digit positivity rates.
• Six counties reported decreases from last week.
• Five counties reported single-digit positivity rates.

Here is a more detailed look at the seven-day rate fluctuations for Region 4 counties from one week ago and one month ago, according to the most recent data released by the state health department Wednesday:

• Region 4: 8.5% on Aug. 22; 10.2% on Aug. 15; and 9.1% on July 23.
• Bond County: 8.6% on Aug. 22; 6.1% on Aug. 15; and 8.5% on July 23.
• Clinton County: 4.6% on Aug. 22; 9.2% on Aug. 15; and 5.7% on July 23.
• Madison County: 8.7% on Aug. 22; 10.4% on Aug. 15; and 9.5% on July 23.
• Monroe County: 11.1% on Aug. 22; 12.2% on Aug. 15; and 12.5% on July 23.
• Randolph County: 10.2% on Aug. 22; 11.6% on Aug. 15; and 6.1% on July 23.
• St. Clair County: 8.7% on Aug. 22; 9.9% on Aug. 15; and 9.5% on July 23.
• Washington County: 9.3% on Aug. 22; 11.8% on Aug. 15; and 4.7% on July 23.

Region 4’s ICU bed availability remains a concern, standing at 21% on Wednesday, down slightly from 22% on Tuesday, according to data released by the state health department. That figure was at 21% one week ago and at 20% a month ago.

Vaccine data

According to data released by the state health department on Wednesday, 303,739 metro-east residents have been fully vaccinated out of the estimated 660,225 who live in the region, or right at 46%. That’s an increase of 4,491 people from the previous week; however, it’s a drop from the period of Aug. 12-18 when 8,409 people became fully vaccinated.

Madison and St. Clair counties continue to set the tone for the vaccine surge, combining to fully vaccinate nearly 3,700 people in the past week; however, similar to the Region 4 totals, that’s down from more than 7,000 the week of Aug. 12-18, according to state health department data.

“Vaccination is our best tool,” President/CEO of Memorial Hospital Mike McManus said during St. Clair County’s press conference Aug. 18. “We just have to keep spreading that message.”

Here is the latest vaccination data from Region 4:

• Bond County: 6,337 people have been fully vaccinated, or 38.11% of the population. That’s an increase of 103 people from one week ago.
• Clinton County: 17,213 people have been fully vaccinated, or 45.73% of the population. That’s an increase of 182 people from one week ago.
• Madison County: 125,388 people have been fully vaccinated, or 47.41% of the population. That’s an increase of 1,824 people from one week ago.
• Monroe County: 17,305 people have been fully vaccinated, or 50.40% of the population. That’s an increase of 236 people from one week ago.
• Randolph County: 12,747 people have been fully vaccinated, or 39.70% of the population. That’s an increase of 188 people from one week ago.
• St. Clair County: 118,530 people have been fully vaccinated, or 45.40% of the population. That’s an increase of 1,875 people from one week ago.
• Washington County: 6,219 people have been fully vaccinated, or 44.44% of the population. That’s an increase of 83 people from one week ago.

For state totals, according to Wednesday’s data, 6,719,139 Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated, or 52.74%. That’s an increase of 76,103 from the previous week.

This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 8:00 AM.