Southwestern Illinois counties report dropping positivity rates, increased vaccinations

Here is a breakdown of recent positivity rate and vaccine distribution data in Region 4, which consists of Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties.

Region 4 positivity rates

Positivity rate is one key metric the Illinois Department of Public Health measures to determine what mitigations may be needed to stem the spread of COVID-19 cases.

Below are some recent trends for Region 4, according to data released by the state health department Wednesday.

• The positivity rate for Region 4 dropped from 13.5% last week to 11.4% this week, the lowest since Dec. 29.
• All seven counties reported positivity rates at or below 13%.
• Five of the seven counties reported decreases from last week to this week, with one county reporting the same positivity rate and the other a slight increase.
  
  
• All seven counties still reported positivity rates above the 8% threshold.
• All seven counties reported significantly lower posivitity rates than from early January, but still higher than from early September. Region 4 as a whole also reported a far lower positivity rate than from early January but a higher one than from early September.

Additionally, while these metrics show marked improvement from early January, the Region 4 positivity rate still has been above the 8% threshold 47 consecutive days after going more than 110 days below that figure prior to that.

The ICU bed availability, meanwhile, has been below the 20% threshold 41 consecutive days after being at or above that figure 116-straight days, according to state data. However, as of Wednesday, Region 4 hospitals reported 24 consecutive days of COVID-19 patient decreases.

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

• Region 4: 11.4% on Feb. 6; 13.5% on Jan. 30; 26.4% on Jan. 7; and 6.6% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Bond County: 11.6% on Feb. 6; 11.6% on Jan. 30; 23.5% on Jan. 7; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Clinton County: 11.8% on Feb. 6; 11.4% on Jan. 30; 24% on Jan. 7; and 5.5% on Sept. 3.
• Madison County: 12.1% on Feb. 6; 13.5% on Jan. 30; 24.3% on Jan. 7; and 6.9% on Sept. 3.
• Monroe County: 11.7% on Feb. 6; 14.9% on Jan. 30; 29.1% on Jan. 7; and 8.1% on Sept. 3.
• Randolph County: 12.4% on Feb. 6; 14.6% on Jan. 30; 19.5% on Jan. 7; and 6.0% on Sept. 3.
• St. Clair County: 10.6% on Feb. 6; 13.6% on Jan. 30; 30.1% on Jan. 7; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
• Washington County: 13% on Feb. 6; 14.1% on Jan. 30; 29.6% on Jan. 7; and 10.9% on Sept. 3.

Region 4’s ICU bed availability, meanwhile, rose from 13% last week to 16% on Wednesday. It was as high as 31% on Nov. 23 and stood at 9% in early January and 21% in early September. This is the highest ICU bed availability since Dec. 31.

Region 4 vaccinations

According to data released by the state health department Wednesday, 363,561 Region 4 residents have been fully vaccinated out of the estimated 660,225 who live in the region, or right at 55%.

Madison and St. Clair counties continue to vaccinate the most individuals in Region 4, combining to fully vaccinate 291,353 people. Madison County leads the way with 148,886 fully vaccinated individuals.

Vaccine breakdown by county

Here is the latest vaccination data from Region 4:

• Bond County: 7,569 people have been fully vaccinated, or 45.51% of the population.
• Clinton County: 20,612 people have been fully vaccinated, or 54.76% of the population.
• Madison County: 148,886 people have been fully vaccinated, or 56.30% of the population.
• Monroe County: 20,568 people have been fully vaccinated, or 59.90% of the population.
• Randolph County: 15,751 people have been fully vaccinated, or 49.06% of the population.
• St. Clair County: 142,467 people have been fully vaccinated, or 54.57% of the population.
• Washington County: 7,708 people have been fully vaccinated, or 55.08% of the population.

For state totals, according to Wednesday’s data, 8,006,642 Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated, or 62.84%.