Illinois health officials encourage vaccines against COVID, flu as viruses circulate
More than 1.5 million Illinois residents have received bivalent booster shots so far, and health agencies recommend anyone who has not been vaccinated for COVID-19 and the flu to do so as winter approaches.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rated 32 counties at a medium COVID-19 community level in its Thursday update, and zero counties were at a high level.
Medium level counties include Pike, Jefferson, Wayne, Hamilton, Union and others. St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Washington and Clinton counties are at low levels.
The CDC’s COVID-19 community levels are updated Thursdays and based on metrics from the past seven days, including new hospital admissions per 100,000 people, average percent of staffed, inpatient beds occupied by COVID patients and new cases per 100,000 people.
The federal 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.
1.5 million Illinois residents receive bivalent booster
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced in a Nov. 10 statement more than 1.5 million state residents have received the bivalent booster shot since federal authorities OK’d it in September.
IDPH also reported Illinois has surpassed 25 million total COVID-19 vaccinations, and the organization’s director encouraged those who have not yet been vaccinated to do so.
“As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, we continue to see respiratory viruses spreading rapidly across Illinois and across the country – this includes RSV, influenza, and COVID-19,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in the statement. “The U.S. is currently facing its highest flu hospitalization rate in a decade, with young children and seniors most at risk. Vaccines remain our best tools to prevent the worst outcomes from COVID-19 and flu. I strongly recommend all that have not gotten full protection from COVID-19 and the flu to get vaccinated right away. Both the new COVID-19 bivalent booster and the flu shot target the current strains of these viruses.”
COVID-19 in St. Clair County and Illinois
IDPH has reported 11,020 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 38 deaths since Nov. 4. The statewide daily case rate was 15.1 per 100,000 people as of Nov. 10, down from 15.9 last week.
Intensive care unit bed availability has increased slightly since last week, from 17% to 19%. The seven-day rolling number of hospital admissions is 103.
St. Clair County’s daily case rate is 14.7 per 100,000 individuals, and 21% of the county’s ICU beds are available. The county’s seven-day rolling number of hospital admissions is one, and IDPH reported zero COVID-19 deaths in the locality.
The CDC reports St. Clair County’s weekly case rate is 105.9 per 100,000 people, up from 92.8 last week. There were 2.5 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 individuals, and 3% of the county’s staffed inpatient beds are in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19.
Test positivity is at 4.19% in St. Clair County, according to the CDC. The rate of tests performed has dropped by 29.07% in the county, using data current through Nov. 3.
As of Wednesday night, IDPH reported 1,109 people were in the hospital with COVID-19, including 147 patients in ICUs and 42 people on ventilators.
You can find COVID-19 testing and vaccination information 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 November 13, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
