A county-by-county look at the latest COVID infection, vaccination rates for southwest IL

Garen Vartanian
·4 min read

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 restrictions 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 24% last week to 20.9% this week.

  • Five of the seven counties reported decreases from last week to this week.

  • Five of the seven counties reported positivity rates higher than 20%.

  • All seven counties again reported positivity rates well above the 8% threshold.

  • All seven counties reported higher positivity rates than from early December and early September. Region 4 as a whole also reported a higher positivity rate than from early December and early September.

Additionally, after going more than 110 days below the 8% threshold, the Region 4 positivity rate has now been above that mark 33 consecutive days.

The ICU bed availability, meanwhile, has been below the 20% threshold 27 consecutive days after being at or above that figure 116-straight days, according to state data. However, as of Wednesday, Region 4 hospitals reported six consecutive days of COVID-19 patient decreases.

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

  • Region 4: 20.9% on Jan. 23; 24% on Jan. 16; 7.3% on Dec. 1; and 6.6% on Sept. 3.

  • Bond County: 20.4% on Jan. 23; 21.1% on Jan. 16; 7.3% on Dec. 1; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.

  • Clinton County: 17.6% on Jan. 23; 20% on Jan. 16; 6.6% on Dec. 1; and 5.5% on Sept. 3.

  • Madison County: 19.2% on Jan. 23; 24% on Jan. 16; 7.5% on Dec. 1; and 6.9% on Sept. 3.

  • Monroe County: 21.9% on Jan. 23; 26.6% on Jan. 16; 9.1% on Dec. 1; and 8.1% on Sept. 3.

  • Randolph County: 22.3% on Jan. 23; 19.4% on Jan. 16; 3.0% on Dec. 1; and 6.0% on Sept. 3.

  • St. Clair County: 22.9% on Jan. 23; 25.7% on Jan. 16; 7.7% on Dec. 1; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.

  • Washington County: 24.1% on Jan. 23; 12.8% on Jan. 16; 6.3% on Dec. 1; and 10.9% on Sept. 3.

Region 4’s ICU bed availability, meanwhile, dipped to 8% on Wednesday. It was at 12% last week, as high as 31% on Nov. 23 and stood at 28% in early December and 21% in early September.

Of note, this is the second time in January the availability fell to 8% — the other instance being Jan. 8 — which is the lowest figure since the Illinois Department of Public Health started tracking data in June 2020. The highest its been this month is 16%.

Region 4 vaccinations

According to data released by the state health department Wednesday, 360,344 Region 4 residents have been fully vaccinated out of the estimated 660,225 who live in the region, or about 54.5%

Madison and St. Clair counties continue to vaccinate the most individuals in Region 4, combining to fully vaccinate 288,577 people. Madison County leads the way with 147,413 fully vaccinated individuals.

Vaccine breakdown by county

Here is the latest vaccination data from Region 4:

  • Bond County: 7,530 people have been fully vaccinated, or 45.28% of the population.

  • Clinton County: 20,472 people have been fully vaccinated, or 54.39% of the population.

  • Madison County: 147,413 people have been fully vaccinated, or 55.74% of the population.

  • Monroe County: 20,427 people have been fully vaccinated, or 59.49% of the population.

  • Randolph County: 15,667 people have been fully vaccinated, or 48.80% of the population.

  • St. Clair County: 141,164 people have been fully vaccinated, or 54.07% of the population.

  • Washington County: 7,671 people have been fully vaccinated, or 54.81% of the population.

For state totals, according to Wednesday’s data, 7,880,375 Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated, or 61.85%.