Here’s a county by county look at recent COVID-19 data for southwestern Illinois

Here is a breakdown of recent positivity rate and vaccine distribution data in Region 4, which includes 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 restrictions may be needed to stem the spread of COVID-19 cases. Most of those restrictions across Illinois were lifted about a month ago.

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 sharply from 2.1% last week to 1.4% this week.
• The positivity rate has been below the 8% threshold 39-straight days after previously being above that mark since right before Christmas.
• All seven counties reported positivity rates well below the 8% threshold.
• The highest positivity rate reported among the seven counties was 4.8%.
• Four of the seven counties reported decreases from last week.
  
  
• Four of the seven counties reported positivity rates at 1.5% or lower.
• All seven counties reported significantly lower infection rates than from early January.

The ICU bed availability, meanwhile, also remained above the 20% threshold. After being below that mark 47 consecutive days, the availability has been above 20% for 36-straight days, according to state data.

Additionally, as of Wednesday, Region 4 hospitals reported 58 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 Tuesday:

• Region 4: 1.4% on March 19; 2.1% on March 13; 26.4% on Jan. 7; and 6.6% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Bond County: 2.8% on March 19; 0.9% on March 13; 23.5% on Jan. 7; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Clinton County: 0.6% on March 19; 2.0% on March 13; 24% on Jan. 7; and 5.5% on Sept. 3.
• Madison County: 1.5% on March 19; 2.6% on March 13; 24.3% on Jan. 7; and 6.9% on Sept. 3.
• Monroe County: 2.6% on March 19; 1.7% on March 13; 2.9%; 29.1% on Jan. 7; and 8.1% on Sept. 3.
• Randolph County: 1.2% on March 19; 1.7% on March 13; 19.5% on Jan. 7; and 6.0% on Sept. 3.
• St. Clair County: 1.3% on March 19; 1.8% on March 13; 30.1% on Jan. 7; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
• Washington County: 4.5% on March 19; 1.8% on March 13; 29.6% on Jan. 7; and 10.9% on Sept. 3.

Additionally, Region 4’s ICU bed availability dropped this week — from 32% two weeks ago to 28% last week and to 25% this week. The availability was at 9% in early January and 21% in early September.

Region 4 vaccinations

According to data released by the state health department Tuesday, 371,078 Region 4 residents have been fully vaccinated out of the estimated 660,225 who live in the region, or about 56.2%.

Madison and St. Clair counties continue to vaccinate the most individuals in Region 4, combining to fully vaccinate 297,243 people. Madison County leads the way with 151,644 fully vaccinated individuals.

Vaccine breakdown by county

Here is the latest vaccination data from Region 4:

• Bond County: 7,760 people have been fully vaccinated, or 46.66% of the population.
• Clinton County: 21,066 people have been fully vaccinated, or 55.97% of the population.
• Madison County: 151,644 people have been fully vaccinated, or 57.34% of the population.
• Monroe County: 20,922 people have been fully vaccinated, or 60.93% of the population.
• Randolph County: 16,145 people have been fully vaccinated, or 50.29% of the population.
• St. Clair County: 145,599 people have been fully vaccinated, or 55.77% of the population.
• Washington County: 7,942 people have been fully vaccinated, or 56.75% of the population.

For state totals, according to Tuesday’s data, 8,181,923 Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated, or 64.22%.

This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 4:03 PM.