With COVID-19 cases rising in St. Clair County, officials continue vaccination push

With the holidays approaching, the omicron variant still very prevalent and COVID-19 cases rising, St. Clair County health officials stressed caution during Wednesday’s weekly briefing.

Health Department Director Myla Blandford encouraged people get fully vaccinated.

“With omicron the best tool we have in our tool belt is to get everyone fully vaccinated and boosted when that’s available to you,” Blandford said. “Our case rate is still high. We obviously still have a lot of transmission in the community. As we move into the holiday season with large groups indoors, individuals who are traveling, we really encourage everyone to get their vaccine, try to become fully vaccinated prior to the holiday season and limit that spread.”

Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons echoed Blandford’s remarks while noting COVID still is impacting all age groups.

“Again, it’s still out there in our community,” he said. “I had a phone call a couple days ago, a citizen said, ‘What is it going to take to make people understand?’ I don’t know. I’m at a loss for that. We’ve sat here for 642 days now and we have begged and preached and given them statistics and gave them information.

“Everyone is in control of their own destiny, really. The transmission is still out there. There’s no particular group that it’s not affecting. I don’t know what the answer is.”

Like Blandford, Simmons encouraged vaccination and added people should do their research and consult with their health care provider.

“You can help get those numbers down,” he said. “If you haven’t decided or haven’t done enough research on your own to find out if you want to get the vaccine ... talk to your health care provider. If they tell you don’t do it, then follow what your health care provider is telling you. But if they’ve told you to get it, then there’s no reason why you don’t go get it. As Myla said, that’s the best tools we have in our tool belt right now — the vaccine.

“It’s proven. We’ve all been fully vaccinated and we’re here. With the holidays coming up on us, as we’ve said, you’re going to have family over, you’re going to have friends over. We surely don’t want to see any more increases in these numbers.”

Overall, St. Clair County continued to see a rise in COVID-19 cases for the week of Dec. 9-15, while deaths decreased slightly and hospitalizations increased.

Health officials announced 1,048 new COVID-19 cases the past week during Wednesday’s briefing. That number is up from the 1,012 cases reported the week of Dec. 2-8; the 611 cases reported the week of Nov. 25-Dec. 1; the 547 cases reported the week of Nov. 18-24; and the 472 cases reported the week of Nov. 11-17.

Additionally, the county announced seven new deaths — a woman in her 50s, a man in his 60s, a woman in her 60s, a man in his 70s, a woman in her 70s, a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 90s; with no health conditions disclosed — after reporting nine new deaths from Dec. 2-8.

Hospitalization numbers in St. Clair County increased as well, from 53 last week to 63 this week, health officials reported during the weekly briefing. The number of patients on ventilators also increased, from two last week to four this week.

The county now has 44,585 cases — including 3,690 the past five weeks — and 586 deaths since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, 25 of the county’s 27 ZIP codes reported case increases from last week.

St. Clair County health officials also continue to see higher case numbers among the younger population, with decreases from last week noted:

• 59% of current positive cases are under 40, down from 63% last week.
• 29% of current positive cases are under 20, down from 30% last week.
• 14.5% of current positive cases are under 10, down from 15% last week.

COVID still hitting unvaccinated people hardest

The latest data from local medical facilities continues to show unvaccinated people face an increased chance of being hospitalized if they catch the COVID-19 virus.

Blandford presented a 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.

• Hospitalizations: 63 people total hospitalized, with 49 of them unvaccinated. Last week, 53 people were hospitalized, with 39 of them unvaccinated.
• ICU: 14 individuals total in the ICU, with 13 of them unvaccinated. Last week, 12 people were in the ICU, with 11 of them unvaccinated.
• Ventilators: Four individuals total on a ventilator, with all of them unvaccinated. Last week, two patients were on a ventilator, with one of them unvaccinated.

Madison County, Region 4 hospital figures

Since last reporting data for Madison County on Dec. 8, the latest figures show an increase of 1,462 cases and 10 new deaths from the past week.

Overall, as of Wednesday, Madison County had reported 44,384 new cases and 635 deaths since the pandemic began.

Also, the Madison County Health Department reported 60 patients hospitalized and eight people on ventilators. The hospitalization numbers rose from 55 since the BND last reported Madison County’s data Dec. 8, while the number of people on ventilators rose from three to eight.

Of note, the health department recently announced on its Facebook page it will provide data updates Mondays-Fridays moving forward.

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

Regionally, the number of patients hospitalized again increased, from 136 last week to 144 this week, county officials reported Wednesday, with the number of people on a ventilator also rising from 10 last week to 14 this week.

Where to get vaccinated in St. Clair County

The St. Clair County Health Department’s location at 330 W. Main St. remains open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays for vaccinations.

All three vaccines — Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna — are offered every day there for anyone 12 and older. Appointments are recommended but not required. Flu vaccines also are now available at this location. People can schedule an appointment at www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/health-department or by phone at 618-233-7703.

Blandford noted recently staff members at that location can assist people with any questions.

Additionally, the health department is now offering Pfizer vaccine clinics for children age 5-11 at the department headquarters, 19 Public Square, Belleville.

The clinics take place in the evenings Monday-Wednesday and some select Saturdays, Blandford noted. People should call 618-825-4447 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday to make an appointment or visit https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/health-department to register. Appointments are required. People also can receive their flu vaccine here.

Various pediatric physician offices, Walgreens and CVS are offering the shots for young people, health officials said recently.