The McLean County Health Department (MCHD) has rescheduled two COVID-19 vaccination clinics after receiving vaccine shipments that were delayed due to winter weather.MCHD said in a news release that Tuesday appointments that were canceled on Feb. 16 due to the weather have been rescheduled for Thursday at Grossinger Motors Arena in downtown Bloomington. Appointments that were canceled on Feb. 19 due to delayed shipments have been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 2,also at the arena.
Appointments will remain in the same time slot, the health department said.
MCHD public affairs coordinator Marianne Manko said the department wanted to wait until the vaccines arrived before rescheduling, even as some patients awaiting a second dose were approaching the CDC’s recommended maximum 42-day gap between doses.
“We don’t want to reschedule them and then have to cancel them again because the vaccine didn’t come in,” Manko said.
The health department hasn’t scheduled any new clinics for first doses, citing limited supply. The county’s plans to expand eligibility to include those with underlying health conditions remain on hold until more vaccine becomes available.
Nearly 28,000 vaccines have been put in people’s arms in McLean County. The county has about 4.25% fully vaccinated. That’s below the state average of 4.48%.
The county and Carle BroMenn Medical Center have second-dose clinics scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday at Grossinger, and Wednesday and Friday at the Activity and Recreation Center (ARC) in Normal.
Positivity rate rises
McLean County’s rolling testing positivity rate rose to 3.1% Tuesday as the county added 40 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases.
Just 8% of Bloomington-Normal hospital beds are available, that’s down from 12% on Monday. The health department said 23% of intensive care beds are open.
Local hospitals are caring for 14 COVID-19 patients, while 21 McLean County residents are hospitalized with the virus. That number is unchanged since Monday.
MCHD said 195 people are isolating at home and 14,036 patients have been released from isolation and are considered recovered.
The county has reported 170 COVID-related deaths.
The county’s cumulative testing positivity rate is 6.1%, based on 238,1000 tests that have been conducted since last March.
Coronavirus - Testing Positivity Rate
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