DeKalb County vaccination rate slows as reported virus cases dip

DeKALB – DeKalb County health officials reported 21 new confirmed COVID-19 cases Friday as the positivity rate dipped below 2%.

The rate of new vaccinations has also slowed in DeKalb County, with fewer than 20 new residents reported as fully vaccinated on Friday. In the past week, DeKalb County has averaged about 28 new residents who became fully vaccinated per day, according to state data. A week prior, the daily vaccination rate was about 26 residents per day. From Feb 18 through Feb 25, an average of 81 residents per day became fully vaccinated. On Friday, an additional 17 more DeKalb County residents became fully vaccinated.

The new reported virus cases bring the total to 23,104, according to state data. Case data doesn’t include positive cases identified through at-home virus testing and might not include test results waiting to be reported from backlogged laboratories.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 17 more booster shots were administered in the county.

Hospitalizations and positivity rate

As of Friday, there were 27 of 137 intensive care unit beds available in Region 1, according to state data.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate for the region, which runs north to Rockford and west to the Iowa border, is 2.1%. The DeKalb County positivity rate is 1.9%. Positivity rates are reported with a three-day data lag. Region 1 also reported a seven-day average of 45 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.

According to the IDPH, 146,416 total vaccine doses have been administered to DeKalb County residents and 58,103 residents – 58% of the county’s population of 100,420, according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data – have been fully vaccinated. As of Friday, 29,124 booster shots had been administered to county residents. The seven-day rolling average of doses administered to county residents is 46.

The IDPH reported that 3,045,718 Illinoisans have tested positive for COVID-19, while 33,075 have died statewide. The department reported that at least 55,731,994 tests have been administered to date. That does not include self tests administered at home.

Vaccination by ZIP code

Updated vaccination by ZIP code data shows the percentages of residents in DeKalb County ZIP codes who have been fully vaccinated as of March 11. This data is provisional and will be updated every Wednesday, according to the IDPH, and uses 2018 federal population data.

As of March 11:

• 60111 (includes Clare) ZIP code, 98.67% of the population is fully vaccinated (100% of residents have had at least one dose).

• 60112 (Cortland) ZIP code, 63.29% is fully vaccinated.

• 60115 (DeKalb) ZIP code, 50.47% is fully vaccinated.

• 60135 (Genoa), 62.25% is fully vaccinated.

• 60145 (Kingston), 49.49% is fully vaccinated.

• 60146 (Kirkland, Fairdale), 46.05% is fully vaccinated.

• 60150 (Malta), 53.37% is fully vaccinated.

• 60151 (Maple Park), 57.5% is fully vaccinated.

• 60178 (Sycamore), 66.22% is fully vaccinated.

• 60520 (Hinckley), 55.3% is fully vaccinated.

• 60548 (Sandwich), 54.75% is fully vaccinated.

• 60550 (Shabbona), 49.04% is fully vaccinated.

• 60552 (Somonauk), 52.42% is fully vaccinated.

• 60556 (Waterman), 52.83% is fully vaccinated.

Congregate care settings

Eight congregate care settings have reported outbreaks in the past 30 days, according to the DeKalb County Health Department. Some facilities’ vaccination data isn’t publicly available.

As of Mar. 11:

• Oak Crest DeKalb Area Retirement Center in DeKalb has reported 64 cases: 53 employees and 11 residents. According to the IDPH, 98.43% of Oak Crest employees are fully vaccinated, along with 100% of residents.

• Prairie Crossing Supportive Living has reported 12 cases: five employees and seven residents.

• DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center in DeKalb has reported 53 cases: 49 employees and four residents, and two deaths. 79.72% of its employees and 91.74% of residents are fully vaccinated at the facility.

• Sandwich Rehabilitation and Health Care Center has reported 12 cases: 10 staff members and two residents. According to the IDPH, 78% of its staff and 98.48% of its residents are fully vaccinated as of Feb. 25.

• Aperion Care in DeKalb has reported 44 cases: 26 staff members, 18 residents and one death.

The state considers a facility in outbreak mode if new virus activity is reportedly linked to the facility within 30 days. If the facility goes 30 days without reporting new activity, it will be taken off the health department’s outbreak website, health officials have said.

The state does not update long-term care facility numbers if a person has fully recovered. The numbers remain listed in total through the duration of the outbreak.

Cases, deaths in DeKalb County

The following is a breakdown of cases and deaths from COVID-19, according to the DeKalb County Health Department, updated on Fridays. Reported cases may not convey how many actual cases are in the county because local and state data do not include cases identified through at-home tests, which are not reported to laboratories.

As of Mar. 11, there have been 5,705 cases in residents age 19 or younger, 4,986 in their 20s, 3,544 in their 30s, 2,935 in their 40s, 2,662 in their 50s, 1,735 in their 60s, 863 in their 70s and 673 in their 80s or older.

Of the 193 total deaths have been reported in DeKalb County by local health officials as of Mar. 4: 100 were in residents in their 80s or older, 30 were in their 70s, 34 in their 60s, 18 in their 50s, six in their 40s, three in their 30s, one in their 20s and one infant.

Neither state nor local data specifies how many cases are linked to COVID-19 variants.