Vermilion County maintains at HIGH Transmission Level for new cases of COVID19 with 192.72 new cases per 100,000 in the last 7 days. Due to the HIGH transmission status, it is recommended that everyone, despite vaccination, should wear a mask when indoors.
Update from other States
St. Louis hospitals have seen a large increase in children being hospitalized. With a total of 20 children, ten were younger than 12 and too young to be vaccinated, while the others were ages 12-18. Seven (35%) are currently in the ICU. Children are still less likely to have severe symptoms, but we are starting to see a rise in hospitalizations in the younger unvaccinated population. The Delta variant is 2-3 times more likely to put an unvaccinated person into the hospital and twice as likely to result in death. Other hospitals like Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas are also reporting more severely ill pediatric patients. At the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, they had 24 children hospitalized with COVID19. Seven of those were in ICU and 4 were on ventilators. They are also not seeing only comorbidities (underlying health conditions) with these children as we had in the past. As of right now, we have not been made aware of any pediatric hospitalizations in Vermilion County. I’d like it to stay that way, which is why we are recommending taking extra precautions again.
As long as the virus continues to replicate itself with each new case, the virus changes and the game plan changes.
Requirements for Masks, Testing, and Vaccines Update
- Effective immediately, the State of Illinois is requiring all Illinois schools and daycares, Preschool-12th Grade, to wear masks indoors at schools, regardless of vaccination status. Indoor school athletics and activities will also require masking. Outdoor events will not require masking, as the likelihood of outdoor transmission is very minimal. This is due to the Delta Variant becoming the dominant strain which is more contagious and more severe. With the rise in severe pediatric cases, it is important to keep our children safe.
- Shield testing will be available to all Illinois Public Schools, K-12, free of charge. I have attached the news release for further information.
- State employees who work in congregate care facilities, veterans’ homes and correctional facilities will also be required to receive vaccinations.
- Mask Mandate for all Long Term Care Facilities, residents and staff
- Attached is the new release as the State of Illinois will begin to release Vaccination Data in our LTC facilities.
Testing Updates
- Shield Saliva COVID19 Testing will be at the Health Department EVERY Wednesday
- Time: 11am-3pm (Appointments are recommended, but not required – you can make an appointment by clicking on the link and registering: You do need a text number and an email address to receive your results. https://shieldilportal.pointnclick.com/login_login.aspx
- Testing is FREE and is a PCR test
- They are no longer requesting that you cannot eat or drink prior to getting tested.
Vaccine Updates
Check our website for upcoming J and J and Moderna Clinics: www.vchd.org
We are not currently able to do any agency onsite clinics due to limited staff availability. If you would like to set up an on-site clinic at your location, IEMA has partnered with IDPH and the Illinois National Guard to bring in mobile teams. They have come to multiple agencies already here in Vermilion County. Here is the contact information:
Ernesto Drouet EMA.V.Ernesto.Drouet@Illinois.gov
Covid-19 Vaccination Site Coordinator
Tasked to IDPH Community Partner Vaccination Efforts
Tasked at IEMA SEOC for Mass Vaccination Planning.
IDPH and IEMA representative for Mass Vaccination efforts
State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC)
Illinois Emergency Management Agency
There are also plenty of locations that are offering vaccines currently including our local hospitals (OSF, Carle, and the VA), pharmacies, Aunt Martha’s, and some private providers.
Regional Metrics (as of August 4th, 2021)
For updates to vaccine numbers and regional metrics, please visit http://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccinedata?county=Vermilion or http://www.dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics?regionID=6. The state updates these numbers at noon on Mondays-Fridays.
Region 6 – 6.4% positivity rate (7 day rolling average)
Vermilion County – 7.7% positivity rate (7 day rolling average)
Vermilion County – 4.1% daily positivity rate on 7/31/2021
Region 6 ICU availability – 31%
Region 6 Patient increases – 10 out of the last 10 days (we were at about 25 hospitalizations a couple week ago….we are close to 100 now)
