ICU bed availability and vaccinations rise, new cases drop in southwest IL counties

Southwest Illinois counties continued to show an uptick in vaccinations while most COVID-19 positivity rates remained below 6.0% the past three days. Additionally, the ICU bed availability reached the highest level since July.

Below is a breakdown of vaccine distribution and positivity rate data from Sept. 16-22 in Region 4.

The Illinois Department of Public Health’s vaccination tracker does not account for vaccinations provided by federal government agencies including the Department of Defense, Veterans Health and the Bureau of Prisons. According to IDPH, that accounts for roughly 270,000 total doses in Illinois. Those vaccinations are not included in the data listed here.

Region 4 vaccinations

According to data released by the state health department Wednesday, 317,100 Region 4 residents have been fully vaccinated out of the estimated 660,225 who live in the region, or approximately 48%. That’s a sharp increase of 3,883 people from the previous week.

Region 4 consists of Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties.

The vaccination numbers for Region 4 remain fairly steady: 3,480 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 2-8 and nearly 4,500 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 9-15.

Madison and St. Clair counties continue to vaccinate the most individuals in Region 4, combining to fully vaccinate 3,040 people the past week, a decrease of 549.

Vaccine breakdown by county

Here is the latest vaccination data from Region 4:

• Bond County: 6,590 people have been fully vaccinated, or 39.63% of the population. That’s an increase of 102 people from one week ago.
• Clinton County: 17,980 people have been fully vaccinated, or 47.77% of the population. That’s an increase of 254 people from one week ago.
• Madison County: 130,550 people have been fully vaccinated, or 49.36% of the population. That’s an increase of 1,526 people from one week ago.
• Monroe County: 17,967 people have been fully vaccinated, or 52.33% of the population. That’s an increase of 186 people from one week ago.
• Randolph County: 13,558 people have been fully vaccinated, or 42.23% of the population. That’s an increase of 181 people from one week ago.
• St. Clair County: 123,790 people have been fully vaccinated, or 47.42% of the population. That’s an increase of 1,514 people from one week ago.
• Washington County: 6,665 people have been fully vaccinated, or 47.62% of the population. That’s an increase of 120 people from one week ago.

For state totals, according to Wednesday’s data, 6,896,896 Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated, or 54.67%. That’s an increase 68,345 from the previous week, after the state reported 81,979 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 9-15.

Region 4 positivity rates

The positivity rate for Region 4 as a whole and among its individual counties continues to show promising improvement.

Positivity rate is one key metric the Illinois Department of Public Health measures to determine whether to reinstate restrictions.

Below are some trends for Region 4 from Sept. 16-22, according to data released by the state health department Wednesday.

• The positivity rate for Region 4 dropped from 6.9% last week to 5.5% this week.
• The Region 4 postivity rate has remained below 8% since Aug. 31 and below 6% three-straight days.
• No counties reported a double-digit positivity rate.
• All seven counties reported decreases from 30 days ago, as did Region 4 as a whole.
  
  
• All seven 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: 5.5% on Sept. 19, 6.9% on Sept. 12; and 8.9% on Aug. 20.
• Bond County: 4.4% on Sept. 19; 5.7% on Sept. 12; and 7.2% on Aug. 20.
• Clinton County: 4.9% on Sept. 19; 4.9% on Sept. 12; and 5.3% on Aug. 20.
• Madison County: 5.4% on Sept. 19; 7.5% on Sept. 12; and 9.0% on Aug. 20.
• Monroe County: 7.2% on Sept. 19; 9.3% on Sept. 12; and 11.4% on Aug. 20.
• Randolph County: 6.0% on Sept. 19; 7.9% on Sept. 12; and 8.6% on Aug. 20.
• St. Clair County: 5.4% on Sept. 19; 6.4% on Sept. 12; and 9.5% on Aug. 20.
• Washington County: 8.2% on Sept. 19; 12.9% on Sept. 12; and 10.4% on Aug 20.

Region 4’s ICU bed availability also continues to improve, standing at 29% on Wednesday, the highest since it was at 33% on July 20. Overall, that metric has risen steadily since being at 22% on Sept. 16; it was at 23% one week ago and at 22% a month ago.