COVID Vaccine

The rate of new COVID vaccinations in McLean County dropped this week, but compares favorably with vaccination totals in September.

All McLean County employees who get the COVID-19 vaccine, or present a medical or religious exemption, would get $1,000, under a plan a County Board committee endorsed on Monday.

The rate of new coronavirus cases at Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University have dropped as vaccinations increase.

The chief medical officer at Carle BroMenn and Carle Eureka hospitals says improved vaccination rates and lower coronavirus caseloads are good signs, but Dr. Jim Nevin is concerned that COVID-19 patients are younger and sicker than they were last year when long-term care facilities saw the biggest outbreaks.

Data from McLean County Health Department show weekly coronavirus cases are the lowest they have been since early August.

COVID vaccinations increased in McLean County in the last week, but the rate of new doses going into arms is still well behind the pace the county saw in the spring.

Five more people have died of COVID-19 complications in McLean County. The county health department says the latest deaths include a woman in her 40s, a woman in her 60s, two women in their 70s and a man in his 80s.

McLean County's coronavirus caseload has dropped to its lowest level in nearly two months, following a late summer surge. But COVID hospitalizations are still rising.

McLean County reported 12 COVID-related deaths in September. That’s the highest monthly death toll since February, when only a small fraction of the population was vaccinated.

The McLean County Health Department reported 67 daily coronavirus cases on Wednesday while the county's weekly caseload fell to its lowest mark in seven weeks.