30 IL counties are at high COVID community levels. Here’s how to get an updated booster
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved St. Clair County from a low COVID-19 community level to a medium in its Thursday update as the case rate increased by 12.99% over the previous seven days.
The CDC categorized 60 Illinois counties at a medium level this week. Medium level southwest Illinois counties included St. Clair, Bond, Clinton, Washington, Jersey and Randolph. Calhoun, Madison and Monroe were at a low level.
Health authorities rated 30 Illinois counties at a high level, including Perry, Jackson, Jefferson, Wayne, Franklin, Williamson, Johnson, Massac and others.
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The CDC’s COVID-19 community levels are updated on Thursday and based on metrics from the past seven days, including new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people, average percent of staffed, inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and new cases per 100,000 people.
The agency advises people in high community level areas to wear a mask indoors and on public transportation, and people at a higher risk of severe illness should consider precautions in medium level areas.
New booster shots in Illinois
The FDA granted emergency use authorization for two new bivalent booster shots Wednesday. The vaccines are designed to protect against the original strain of the virus and omicron BA.4 and BA.5.
Moderna’s new booster is authorized as a single booster dose for those 18 years and older, and Pfizer-BioNTech’s is for those 12 years and up.
“Once the updated booster shots become available next week, I urge everyone in Illinois who is eligible to take advantage of the opportunity to get fully protected before we enter the fall season,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a Friday release. “These new bivalent vaccines are designed to offer extra protection against the omicron variants which are now the dominant strain of the virus. Getting up to date now is especially important for those who are at risk of serious outcomes as the updated vaccines offer protection from hospitalization and even death.”
IDPH officials said they expect to receive 580,000 doses of the new boosters, plus an additional 150,000 for the city of Chicago, for distribution in the next week. You can search vaccines.gov to locate a pharmacy, hospital or other provider offering the updated shot near you.
COVID-19 in St. Clair County and Illinois
The CDC reported St. Clair County had a weekly case rate of 201.01 per 100,000 people, and there were 7.4 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 individuals. Additionally, 4.2% of staffed, inpatient hospital beds were in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19.
Cases are up 12.99% in St. Clair County, the CDC reported, and the rate of tests performed is up 61.83%. Test positivity in the county has seen a slight decline, dropping by 1.78% over the previous seven days. New admissions of COVID-19 patients decreased by 20.6%.
As of Thursday night, the IDPH reported 1,263 people in the state were in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those patients, 154 were in intensive care units and 46 were on ventilators.
IDPH reported the state’s daily case rate was 29.3 per 100,000 people, and 20% of ICU beds were available. The agency reported 120 COVID-diagnosed hospital admissions and 70 weekly deaths.
You can find testing information and schedule COVID-19 vaccines online in St. Clair County.
Note: Some CDC data, such as test positivity rates, the number of tests performed and total case rate, update on different days. IDPH data and CDC data may not update at the same time, so metrics may vary across agencies.
This story was originally published September 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
