Two years since first COVID-19 case in DeKalb County; Data shows slowed vaccination rates

DeKALB – Wednesday marks two years since the DeKalb County Health Department reported the first case of COVID-19 in a resident in 2020.

State data shows that while reported cases of COVID-19 slow in DeKalb County, vaccination rates have also slowed, with several smaller communities in the county reported fewer than half its populations are fully vaccinated.

Health officials also reported three new virus cases in DeKalb County over the past 24 hours, according to state data.

The new reported virus cases as of Wednesday bring the total to 23,193, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. 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.

No new deaths were reported, leaving the death toll at 194.

Areas including Kingston, Kirkland, Fairdale and Shabbona report fewer than 50% of populations are fully vaccinated from COVID-19, while the remaining zip code areas in DeKalb County report more than half or higher are fully vaccinated in communities.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, eight more residents became fully vaccinated Wednesday and 25 more booster shots were administered.

Hospitalizations and positivity rate

As of Wednesday, 30 of 138 intensive care unit beds are 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 1.6%. The DeKalb County positivity rate is 1.8%. Positivity rates are reported with a three-day data lag. Region 1 also reported a seven-day average of 27 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.

According to the IDPH, 146,897 total vaccine doses have been administered to DeKalb County residents as of Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, 58,268 residents – or 58% of the county’s population of 100,420, according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data – have been fully vaccinated.

And 29,421 booster shots had been administered to county residents. The seven-day rolling average of doses administered to county residents is 42.

The IDPH reports on its website that all vaccine data, which is updated every business day, is provisional.

The IDPH reported 3,058,192 cases in Illinois which tested positive for COVID-19, while 33,278 have died statewide. The department reported that at least 56,702,064 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 23. This data is provisional and will be updated every Wednesday, according to the IDPH, and uses 2018 federal population data.

As of March 23:

• 60111 (includes Clare) ZIP code, 100% of the population is fully vaccinated.

• 60112 (Cortland) ZIP code, 63.71% is fully vaccinated.

• 60115 (DeKalb) ZIP code, 50.65% is fully vaccinated.

• 60135 (Genoa), 62.4% is fully vaccinated.

• 60145 (Kingston), 46.39% is fully vaccinated.

• 60146 (Kirkland, Fairdale), 46.52% is fully vaccinated.

• 60150 (Malta), 53.61% is fully vaccinated.

• 60151 (Maple Park), 57.73% is fully vaccinated.

• 60178 (Sycamore), 66.32% is fully vaccinated.

• 60520 (Hinckley), 55.52% is fully vaccinated.

• 60548 (Sandwich), 54.91% is fully vaccinated.

• 60550 (Shabbona), 49.24% is fully vaccinated.

• 60552 (Somonauk), 52.33% is fully vaccinated.

• 60556 (Waterman), 52.93% is fully vaccinated.

Congregate care settings

Four 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. 18:

• Oak Crest DeKalb Area Retirement Center in DeKalb has reported 64 cases: 53 employees and 11 residents. According to the IDPH, 97.72% of Oak Crest employees are fully vaccinated, along with 100% of residents.

• DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center in DeKalb has reported 53 cases: 49 employees and four residents, and two deaths. 78.86% of its employees and 94.57% 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, 84.78% of its staff and 90.91% of its residents are fully vaccinated.

• Aperion Care in DeKalb has reported 44 cases: 26 staff members, 18 residents and one death. Per IDPH, 84.62% of staff and 95.12% of residents are fully vaccinated.

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. 18, there have been 5,722 cases in residents age 19 or younger, 4,995 in their 20s, 3,553 in their 30s, 2,941 in their 40s, 2,667 in their 50s, 1,737 in their 60s, 865 in their 70s and 673 in their 80s or older.

The one COVID-19 death in DeKalb County the week of March 14 was a resident in their 60s. Of the 194 total deaths have been reported in DeKalb County by local health officials as of Mar. 18: 100 were in residents in their 80s or older, 30 were in their 70s, 35 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.