April 25, 2024
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How vaccinated for COVID-19 is Kendall County?

ZIP code data shows Bristol, Oswego, Yorkville have highest percentage of fully vaccinated residents, as Newark, Lisbon, Helmer lag far behind

By John Etheredge
FILE PHOTO: Vaccine stations filled the gymnasium at Yorkville High School Feb. 7, for the second day of a mass vaccination event led by the Kendall County Health Department.

FILE PHOTO: Vaccine stations filled the gymnasium at Yorkville High School Feb. 7, for the second day of a mass vaccination event led by the Kendall County Health Department. (Shea Lazansky)

Just more than half of Oswego’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but most residents in the largely rural areas of Newark, Lisbon and Helmar remain unvaccinated, according to the latest available Kendall County-area vaccination data.

Shaw Local News Network obtained ZIP code-level vaccination rates for the entire state of Illinois in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, painting a picture of who is vaccinated and where while local leaders continue their pandemic responses amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in parts of the country brought on by the delta variant.

Previously, vaccination rates at a hyper-local level, per ZIP code, were not readily available, state health officials said, and Illinois COVID-19 websites included a breakdown by county as the smallest metric. The new data, which Shaw Media obtained in July from the Illinois Department of Public Health, shows how many people are vaccinated by ZIP code across the state.

According to the data, the Bristol 60512 ZIP code, with an estimated population of just more than 1,010 residents, has the highest vaccination rate in the Kendall County area at 56.3%, while the Newark ZIP code, with an estimated population of 3,667 has the county’s lowest vaccination rate of 30.6%.

Oswego’s 60543 ZIP code, with an estimated population of 40,543, has a fully vaccinated rate of 52.9%, followed by Yorkville 60560, with an estimated population of 25,140, at a 50.7% rate, Montgomery (including the Boulder Hill subdivision) 60538, with an estimated population of 29,343, and Minooka 60447, with an estimated population of 14,097, both came in at 46.5%, Sandwich 60548, with an estimated population of 12,054, came in at 43.6%, and Plano 60545, with an estimated population of 13,699, came in at 42.8%. The Aurora 60503 ZIP code located in the Oswego School District 308 in both Kendall and Will counties, with an estimated population of 17,207, has a vaccination rate of 55%.

Total new COVID-19 cases on upswing in county after spring drop

The total number of new COVID-19 cases in Kendall County has risen steadily over the past several weeks, according to county health department data.

In its most recent weekly COVID-19 update, released July 29, the county health department reported 60 new cases of COVID-19 among county residents and a test positivity rate of 4.8%. Both figures are the highest reported by the department since May 20 when 87 new COVID-19 cases were reported and the county’s test positivity rate stood at 3.8%.

The total number of Kendall County residents who have died from COVID-19 remained at 100 over the past week, according to the county health department.

The health department announced Monday, Aug. 2, that the county is experiencing “substantial” community transmission of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a news statement, the health department reported that areas of substantial transmission are considered by the CDC to be those with 50 to 99 cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period. Areas of high transmission are considered to be those with more than 100 cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period.

According to the CDC, Kendall County was at 81 cases per 100,000 as of Saturday, July 31. A total of 100 Kendall County residents have died from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, according to county health department data.

Based on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 1,000 residents, the Plano ZIP code of 60545 has been hardest hit by the virus since the onset of the pandemic, the data shows. The 60545 zip code has had 122.56 COVID-19 cases per 1,000 residents, followed by Minooka 60447 at 120.60, Sandwich 60548 at 113.49, Yorkville 60560 at 108.31, Bristol 60512 at 100.99, Oswego 60543 at 94.43, Newark 60541 at 85.94 and Aurora 60503 at 81.25.

Numbers on rise as local school board consider mask policies

According to the CDC, new K-12 school guidance asked districts to base masks on a person’s vaccination status. If they were fully vaccinated, masks were not necessary. If they weren’t, CDC guidance included a strong recommendation to continue wearing masks.

Local districts throughout the state, faced with mounting pressure from parent groups to not require face coverings unless necessary, have in recent weeks largely opted for optional mask-wearing policies. However, as of July 27, the CDC changed its guidance to strongly encourage universal mask-wearing in schools regardless of vaccination status, considering the recent rise in delta variant cases.

Theresa Komitas, director of communications and public relations for Oswego School District 308, confirmed July 28 that administrators are reviewing the updated CDC guidance. The district’s Board of Education voted July 12 to make mask-wearing optional in the district’s buildings, but mandatory on district buses. The board’s vote came during an acrimonious meeting at Oswego East High School, where several parents and others offered conflicting opinions on the need to have students wear masks.

The Plano School District 88 Board of Education voted Monday, Aug. 2, to make masks optional for students and staff inside district buildings.

The Yorkville School District 115 Board of Education will take up the issue during a meeting set for Aug. 9.

Sandwich School District 430 officials announced in a July 23 email that they will not require students or staff to wear masks while in school for the 2021-22 school year.

Children falling behind on other vaccines.

County health department officials are concerned that many school-aged children in the county are behind on receiving their recommended vaccines.

They noted the CDC’s public sector nationwide vaccine ordering data show a 14% drop in 2020-21 compared with 2019, and measles vaccine is down by more than 20%. They said kids need to get caught up now so that they are protected as they go back to in-person learning. Catch-up vaccination will require efforts from health care systems, health care providers, schools, state and local governments, and families.

For information regarding what vaccinations are needed for each age group, the county health department is encouraging parents and guardians to visit https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/growing/school-vaccinations.html.