COVID-19: 'Troubling news' for area counties

The average of individuals totally vaccinated in the Southern Seven region was 25.87 percent, as of late last week.

Southern Seven Health Department on Friday, July 2, reported 40 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the region it serves.

The health department serves Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Pulaski and Massac counties in Southern Illinois.

Southern Seven Health Department voiced concern about the number of new cases in the region.

Unfortunately, the health department stated, the July 2 number of new cases reflected an increase of more than 200 percent from the previous week. 

“This is troubling news for our region,”Southern Seven Health Department contact tracing outreach coordinator Nathan Ryder said in a news release. 

“We know that our neighbors in Missouri are struggling with the Delta variant of COVID-19 currently exploding in their state,” Ryder stated on July 2.

“We are worried about the spillover effect we may begin to see with the large amounts of people in the Southern Seven region who haven’t gotten themselves vaccinated against COVID-19 yet.”

Southern Seven reported 36,562 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the seven-county region since vaccine first arrived on Dec. 16, 2020. 

The average of individuals totally vaccinated in the Southern Seven region was 25.87 percent, as of late last week. 

“If you haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19, you’re putting yourself at high risk with the more contagious and severe Delta variant of COVID that is spreading rapidly,” Ryder said. 

“The three vaccines we currently have access to are showing they’re very effective at protecting you and helping to slow the spread of this and other COVID variants. We have plenty of vaccine available at Southern Seven Health Department. Now is the time to schedule yourself to get vaccinated before we see a potential surge.”

In neighboring southern Missouri, the Delta variant of COVID-19 has started spreading exponentially in areas with low numbers of the population totally vaccinated.  

Four of the seven counties in the Southern Seven region have the lowest vaccination rates in Illinois, with less than 25 percent totally vaccinated for COVID-19. 

Those counties include Hardin (with 24.6 percent totally vaccinated), Pope (23 percent), Pulaski (22 percent) and Alexander (14.5 percent). 

Illinois Department of Public Health statistics showed that in Union County, 37.26 percent of the population had been fully vaccinated, as of July 1.

Residents in all of the Southern Seven counties are urged to get vaccinated as soon as possible, Ryder said.

Individuals can contact Southern Seven’s administrative office for assistance with scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at their county’s health clinic by calling 618-634-2297. 

The State of Illinois has a toll-free Vaccine Appointment Call Center, which is open seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to midnight, and can be reached at 833-621-1284. 

Ryder said that residents in the seven-county region can also schedule themselves for COVID-19 vaccine appointments by using the Illinois Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Registration system online at https://covidvaccination.dph.illinois.gov. 

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

Sign Up For Breaking News

Stay informed on our latest news!

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
17 + 1 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Comment Here