Vaccine Update

YOUR HEALTH 355 vaccine doses administered in Ogle County

Health department staff working on plan for next dosage round

BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@shawmedia.com

All 355 initial COVID-19 doses received last week were administered by the Ogle County Health Department in conjunction with Rochelle Community Hospital and KSB Hospital, OCHD Public Administrator Kyle Auman said on Tuesday.

The doses were given to healthcare workers and paramedics that wanted it. All hospital staff at RCH got the dose that wanted it.

“Some providers got a couple extra doses out of vials with CDC approval,” Auman said. “We’re waiting for the next round. We haven’t gotten it yet this week. We’re not sure when we will.”

Auman said the OCHD is working on plans for the next round of doses. It has been asked to stick to administering to personnel within the 1A distribution phase. More guidance on who is to receive the vaccine next should come this week, he said.

Long-term care facilities in the county and state have a partnership with Walgreens or CVS pharmacies to get vaccines separately starting Dec. 28, which will be a big help, Auman said.

Auman said the vaccine process has been “hurry up and wait.”

“We were able to remain flexible,” Auman said. “I think things went well for the most part. All of our partners did well in working together. 355 in three days was a huge accomplishment.”

Auman believes the vaccine will be “a huge help” to hospitals, whose bed availability has improved in recent weeks. Vaccinating the rest of the county will take some time, though. An undetermined set number of doses will be received per week. Taking into account the twoleg vaccination format, it would take 100,000 doses to vaccinate 100 percent of the county.

COVID-19 cases in the area have gone down and are trending down, Auman said. The Christmas and New Year’s holidays will determine the next trend, he said. A “small bump” was seen after the Thanksgiving holiday due to gatherings.

A smaller than expected increase in cases may have been due to cases already being so high before Thanksgiving, he said.

“We’re keeping a close eye on Christmas and New Year’s,” Auman said. “This is only the peak of the second wave. It could happen again.”

Auman said he doesn’t know if the OCHD can stop people from going out during the upcoming holidays. He says OCHD has been trying to work with business on doing the right things and being cautious.

The City of Rochelle has taken a proactive approach with business-

The first round of COVID-19 vaccine was delivered to Rochelle Community Hospital Dec. 16, Here, Ben Johnson of Rochelle Fire receives the vaccine. Photo supplied.

es, offering monetary incentives for them to stay closed to prevent spread. Complaints in the county as a whole have slowed to “a couple a week,” with no additional closure orders issued due to noncompliance or outbreaks.

“We will try to keep things reasonable,” Auman said. “Christmas and New Year’s, it could be a spike again. It could be more distinct than Thanksgiving. Things have been lower lately, it’s definitely a fear.”

After schools finished up their semesters on Dec. 18, Auman reflected on the return to school during COVID-19. He said for the most part, it went well and schools did a “fantastic job” of keeping infection out of their buildings.

As far as a return to school in January, Auman says that will depend on what numbers look like. The OCHD previously recommended a return on Jan. 18 in case of holiday spread. Some schools, such as Oregon, plan to return on Jan. 4.

Auman is planning public information campaigns on the vaccine as it becomes more available to the public in conjunction with RCH and KSB. Getting as many people as possible to take the vaccination is the priority.

“I think people need to think about it, we’re giving it to health providers first,” Auman said. “Why would we give it to those folks if it isn’t safe? These recommendations come from manufacturers and the FDA. I believe 1 million have been administered and there has been a small number of adverse effects.”

Auman believes confidence in the vaccine will grow as more people get it. 70-80 percent of the population will have to get it for “herd immunity.”

“I think confidence will grow as more are administered. 70-80 percent of our population will have to be vaccinated for herd immunity.

“It could be a hurdle if people don’t get it,” Auman said.

• COVID-19 UPDATE Continued from Page 4

and 208 cases, respectively.

Polo has 200 cases, Leaf River has 98 cases and Forreston has 145 cases.

The Sauk Valley reported one coronavirus death and 173 new cases Tuesday.

Whiteside County had 107 new cases, with 16 younger than 20, 13 in their 20s, 18 in their 30s, 15 in their 40s, 16 in their 50s, 17 in their 60s, 10 in their 70s, and two in their 80s. There were also 50 new recoveries, and the county now totals 4,703 cases, 119 deaths and 3,680 recoveries.

Lee County reported the death of a woman in her 70s as well as 21 new cases, with two in their 20s, one in his or her 30s, two in their 40s, seven in their 50s, one in his or her 60s, and two in their 80s. Five were from the Dixon Correctional Center, and one was from the Liberty Court nursing home. There were also a dozen new recoveries, pushing the county’s total to 2,403 cases, 48 deaths and 1,937 recoveries.

Carroll County did not report updated numbers Tuesday, and sits at 1,262 cases and 29 deaths.

The North region (Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties) has seen nine consecutive days under the 12% positivity rate. The region’s positivity rate decreased to 9.4%. Currently, 27.2% of medical/surgical beds are available and 25.9% of ICU beds.

The region has nine consecutive days above the 20% threshold for ICU bed availability, and 11 consecutive days above the 20% threshold for medical/surgical bed availability.

Lee County’s rate decreased to 4.3%, and White-

Vehicles sit in line Saturday morning during a COVID-19 testing event outside the Northland Mall in Sterling. The Ogle County Health Department will offer free screenings Dec. 26-27 in Oregon.

Michael Krabbenhoeft/ Shaw Media

side County’s rate decreased to 8.5%.

Within the region, there are 46 available, staffed ICU beds out of 179 total, and 250 ventilators out of 343 available.

Illinois announced 6,239 cases and 116 deaths Tuesday. The state has had 911,308 cases and 15,414 deaths. Free Testing in Oregon

The OCHD will be conducting COVID-19 testing at its facility at 907 Pines Rd. On Dec. 26 and 27 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.