Southwestern IL counties report dropping positivity rates, increased vaccinations

COVID-19 positivity rates in southwest Illinois counties continued to fall over the past week, with all counties below 6.5%. Meanwhile, vaccinations continue to rise, but ICU bed availability dipped from last week.

Here is a breakdown of vaccine distribution and positivity rate data from Sept. 23-29 in Region 4.

Region 4 vaccinations

According to data released by the state health department Wednesday, 320,596 Region 4 residents have been fully vaccinated out of the estimated 660,225 who live in the region, or about 48.5%. That’s an increase of 3,496 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; nearly 4,500 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 9-15; and 3,883 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 16-22.

Madison and St. Clair counties continue to vaccinate the most individuals in Region 4, combining to fully vaccinate 2,664 people over the past week, a decrease of 376 from Sept. 16-22.

Vaccine breakdown by county

Here is the latest vaccination data from Region 4:

• Bond County: 6,680 people have been fully vaccinated, or 40.17% of the population. That’s an increase of 90 people from one week ago.
• Clinton County: 18,216 people have been fully vaccinated, or 48.40% of the population. That’s an increase of 326 people from one week ago.
• Madison County: 131,860 people have been fully vaccinated, or 49.86% of the population. That’s an increase of 1,310 people from one week ago.
• Monroe County: 18,132 people have been fully vaccinated, or 52.81% of the population. That’s an increase of 165 people from one week ago.
• Randolph County: 13,793 people have been fully vaccinated, or 42.96% of the population. That’s an increase of 235 people from one week ago.
• St. Clair County: 125,144 people have been fully vaccinated, or 47.94% of the population. That’s an increase of 1,354 people from one week ago.
• Washington County: 6,771 people have been fully vaccinated, or 48.38% of the population. That’s an increase of 106 people from one week ago.

For state totals, according to Wednesday’s data, 7,031,019 Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated, or 55.18%. That’s an increase of 134,123 from the previous week after the state reported 68,345 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 16-22.

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. 23-29, according to data released by the state health department Wednesday.

• The positivity rate for Region 4 dropped from 5.5% last week to 4.6% this week.
• The Region 4 postivity rate has remained below 8% since Aug. 31 and below 6% since Sept. 17.
• 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.
• The highest positivity rate reported by any of the seven counties was 6.4%.

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: 4.6% on Sept. 26; 5.5% on Sept. 19; and 8.8% on Aug. 27.
  
  
• Bond County: 3.9% on Sept. 26; 4.4% on Sept. 19; and 17.0% on Aug. 27.
  
  
• Clinton County: 3.2% on Sept. 26; 4.9% on Sept. 19; and 7.0% on Aug. 27.
• Madison County: 5.3% on Sept. 26; 5.4% on Sept. 19; and 9.1% on Aug. 27.
• Monroe County: 5.9% on Sept. 26; 7.2% on Sept. 19; and 11.2% on Aug. 27.
• Randolph County: 6.4% on Sept. 26; 6.0% on Sept. 19; and 9.2% on Aug. 27.
• St. Clair County: 3.7% on Sept. 26; 5.4% on Sept. 19; and 8.5% on Aug. 27.
• Washington County: 4.0% on Sept. 26; 8.2% on Sept. 19; and 8.2% on Aug 27.

Region 4’s ICU bed availability, however, dipped the past week, standing at 24% on Wednesday, according to state data. It was at 29% a week ago and at 21% a month ago. The availability reached 30% on Sept. 22.