The rate of new COVID vaccinations in McLean County dropped this week, but compares favorably with vaccination totals from September.
According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH); 1,654 of COVID vaccine doses were administered in McLean County in the last week. That’s down 16% from the previous week as vaccine booster shots were first made available to more high-risk populations. McLean County averaged about 1,600 weekly vaccines in September.
The county’s vaccination rate is 54.8% — below the state mark of 55.9%.
McLean County government officials hope they can improve vaccination rates among county staff by providing financial incentives for them to get jabbed.
On Tuesday, the county saw a drop — to 24 patients — in the number of COVID hospitalizations among McLean County residents. The county’s total of active cases fell to under 300 for the first time since Aug. 12.
School outbreaks
Meanwhile, Unit 5 schools reported a drop in COVID numbers over the last week. According to the district's dashboard, the number of positive student cases has fallen to 36, from 66 the previous week. The number of newly quarantined students fell to 145, from 240 over the previous week.
District 87 schools report a slight drop in numbers. The district dashboard indicates a drop to nine positive student cases, from 11 the previous week. The number of newly-quarantined students is 214; that's down from 239.
IDPH reportedthree COVID outbreaks in local K-12 schoolsin the last month. District 87’s Benjamin Elementary in Bloomington, and Bloomington Junior High School and Unit 5’s Hudson Elementary School all reportedfewer than five coronavirus cases.
The data does not include eight confirmed or probable coronavirus cases among students at Heyworth Elementary School in southern McLean County. The school district opted to shift to online learning for the rest of this week because of a lack of available staff.
