McHenry County’s positivity rate reaches 7%, highest since April 29

More than 156,000 McHenry County residents, or 50.58% of the county’s population, are now fully vaccinated, even as the positivity rate locally reaches 7%, the highest it’s been since April 29, state data shows.

About 580 more vaccines were administered to McHenry County residents, bringing the total to 321,353, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported Thursday. Statewide, 13,362,088 vaccines have been administered.

Vaccinations, on average, have been on the rise for more than a week before dipping slightly again this week.

Statewide, 73.2% of those age 12 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, the IDPH reported Thursday. That rate is 75.1% for those 18 and older and 91.7% for those 65 and older.

The spread of COVID-19 in McHenry County remained “substantial” as of Thursday, the McHenry County Department of Health reported.

The categorization by the county health department Wednesday came with a recommendation that everyone in McHenry County follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and wear a mask indoors regardless of vaccination status.

The incidence rate – the number of new cases per 100,000 residents – was about 87 new cases per 100,000 residents as of Saturday, the last day data is available for, according to the county’s dashboard. That falls within the range for “substantial,” which is 50 to 99.99 cases per 100,000 residents.

The other metric used to measure community spread is the positivity rate, measured by a seven-day rolling average, 7% as of Monday, the last data data is available. That falls within the range for “moderate,” which is 5% to 7.9%

When the two metrics do not fall within the same category, the higher one is chosen, according to the county.

To move to a higher level of transmission under the county’s methodology, a metric would need to be that threshold’s criteria for seven out of the last 10 days while a move to a lower level requires the metric to meet the criteria for seven consecutive days.

The IDPH reported 3,048 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 across Illinois on Thursday, and another 119 new hospital admissions were reported for Monday.

As of late Wednesday, Illinois had 1,205 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital, the most since May 27. Of those, 244 were in intensive care units, and 102 were on ventilators.

McHenry County’s positivity rate, as measured by a seven-day rolling average, increased to 7%. Data remains on a three-day lag. The rate for Region 9, which is composed of Lake and McHenry counties, rose to 5.2%.

Region 9 had 29% of its ICU beds available as of Thursday, and the state reported hospital admissions related to COVID-19 increased 10 out of the past 10 days.

[ COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois back over 1,200 for first time since late May ]

Statewide, the IDPH reported 1,433,313 cases, 23,490 confirmed deaths and 2,484 probable deaths. Neighboring Lake County’s health department reported 63,201 cases and 1,030 deaths through Wednesday, and to the south, Kane County’s health department reported 60,509 cases and 817 deaths on Thursday.

Among McHenry County ZIP codes, Crystal Lake (60014) has the highest number of COVID-19 cases with a total of 4,604 confirmed cases, according to county data. Woodstock (60098) follows with 3,486 cases.

The McHenry County health department reports ZIP code data only for parts within McHenry County, a department spokeswoman said. Any discrepancies between county and IDPH numbers likely are because of the data’s provisional nature and because each health department finalizes its data at different times, she said.

The following is the rest of the local breakdown of cases by ZIP code: McHenry (60050) 3,146; Lake in the Hills (60156) 2,794; Algonquin (60102) 2,227; Huntley (60142) 2,201; Cary (60013) 2,116; Johnsburg and McHenry (60051) 1,988; Harvard (60033) 1,618; Marengo (60152) 1,222; Crystal Lake, Bull Valley and Prairie Grove (60012) 1,058; Wonder Lake (60097) 956; Spring Grove (60081) 740; Island Lake (60042) 419; Fox River Grove (60021) 380; Richmond (60071) 333; Hebron (60034) 180; Barrington (60010) 161; Union (60180) 133; and Ringwood and Wonder Lake (60072) 64.