COVID positivity rates continue to fall in southwest Illinois as vaccinations increase

COVID-19 positivity rates dropped again this week in southwestern Illinois, with no county reporting higher than 4.9%. Vaccinations, meanwhile, increased while the availability of intensive care unit beds dipped slightly.

Here is a breakdown of vaccine distribution and positivity rate data from Oct. 7-13 in Region 4.

Region 4 vaccinations

According to data released by the state health department Wednesday, 326,125 Region 4 residents have been fully vaccinated out of the estimated 660,225 who live in the region, or approximately 49.3%. That’s an increase of 2,436 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 dipped some this week while still remaining fairly steady: 3,480 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 2-8; nearly 4,500 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 9-15; 3,883 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 16-22; 3,496 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 23-29; and 3,093 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 30-Oct. 6.

Madison and St. Clair counties continue to vaccinate the most individuals in Region 4, combining to fully vaccinate 1,885 people from Oct. 7-13; however, that’s a decrease of 554 people from Sept. 30-Oct. 6.

Vaccine breakdown by county

Here is the latest vaccination data from Region 4:

• Bond County: 6,798 people have been fully vaccinated, or 40.88% of the population. That’s an increase of 47 people from one week ago.
• Clinton County: 18,528 people have been fully vaccinated, or 49.23% of the population. That’s an increase of 153 people from one week ago.
• Madison County: 134,004 people have been fully vaccinated, or 50.67% of the population. That’s an increase of 963 people from one week ago.
• Monroe County: 18,408 people have been fully vaccinated, or 53.61% of the population. That’s an increase of 164 people from one week ago.
• Randolph County: 14,085 people have been fully vaccinated, or 43.87% of the population. That’s an increase of 113 people from one week ago.
• St. Clair County: 127,324 people have been fully vaccinated, or 48.77% of the population. That’s an increase of 922 people from one week ago.
• Washington County: 6,978 people have been fully vaccinated, or 49.86% of the population. That’s an increase of 74 people from one week ago.

For state totals, according to Wednesday’s data, 7,135,387 Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated, or 56.0%. That’s an increase of 45,558 people from the previous week after the state reported 58,810 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 30-Oct. 6.

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 Oct. 7-13, according to data released by the state health department Wednesday.

• The positivity rate for Region 4 dropped from 4.2% last week to 3.6% this week.
• The Region 4 postivity rate has remained below 8% since Aug. 31 and below 5% since Sept. 22. Additionally, it has been below 4% six times since Sept. 30.
• No counties reported a double-digit positivity rate.
• All seven counties reported decreases from the beginning of September, 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 4.9%.

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

• Region 4: 3.6% on Oct. 10; 4.2% on Oct. 3; 4.6%; and 6.6% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Bond County: 4.9% on Oct. 10; 3.6% on Oct. 3; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Clinton County: 2.5% on Oct. 10; 3.5% on Oct. 3; and 5.5% on Sept. 3.
• Madison County: 4.1% on Oct. 10; 4.5% on Oct. 3; and 6.9% on Sept. 3.
• Monroe County: 4.7% on Oct. 10; 4.3% on Oct. 3; and 8.1% on Sept. 3.
• Randolph County: 4.4% on Oct. 10; 5.5% on Oct. 3; and 6.0% on Sept. 3.
• St. Clair County: 3.1% on Oct. 10; 3.9% on Oct. 3; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
• Washington County: 3.6% on Oct. 10; 2.7% on Oct. 3; and 10.9% on Sept. 3.

Region 4’s ICU bed availability did drop slightly from 29% last week to 27% on Wednesday, according to state data. It was at 21% a little more than a month ago.