COVID-19, Local, Park Forest, Science

Life and Death: COVID-19 Statistics Show Local Vaccination Rates Abysmal


COVID-19 statistics, Illinois and the Novel Coronavirus.
Illinois and the Novel Coronavirus. (ENEWSPF)

Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- A little over a month since our last tally, COVID-19 statistics show a marked increase in the number of Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases in the region without a commensurate increase in the number of deaths. Park Foresters lag behind residents of other towns, however, in the percentage of residents who have complete vaccinations. While slightly over half of our residents have received one vaccination against the deadly virus, only about 40% have completed the course of COVID-19 vaccinations, two doses for Phizer and Moderna or one dose for Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Of the 120 communities Cook County tracks for percentage of all vaccinations received, Park Forest sits at 88. Of the communities we track, Country Club Hills (90), Steger (98), Lansing (100), Hazel Crest (101), Richton Park (103), Chicago Heights (105), East Hazel Crest (106), South Chicago Heights (107), Marhkam (111), Harvey (113), Sauk Village (114), Ford Heights (117), and University Park (119) rate lower.

Looking at all COVID-19 statistics, municipalities to the north are turning out in larger numbers for vaccinations. The vaccination rate for South Suburban towns, in general, is very low. A table of vaccination rates follows. At the end of this article is an interactive graph showing the vaccination percentages for all towns Cook County tracks.

Municipality Percent w/ 1 Vaccination Percent w/ Complete Vaccinations
Calumet City 40.3% 31.1%
Chicago Heights 44.5% 33.9%
Country Club Hills 49.0% 39.4%
Crestwood 55.6% 45.8%
Dolton 40.0% 31.5%
East Hazel Crest 39.1% 32.6%
Flossmoor 70.9% 58.7%
Ford Heights 21.1% 15.6%
Glenwood 51.0% 41.0%
Harvey 35.0% 25.5%
Hazel Crest 45.5% 36.1%
Homewood 65.2% 54.1%
Lansing 46.5% 36.5%
Lynwood 47.3% 38.2%
Markham 39.4% 29.2%
Matteson 60.4% 49.0%
Oak Forest 56.5% 46.3%
Olympia Fields 67.2% 56.0%
Orland Park 72.4% 61.4%
Park Forest 50.7% 39.9%
Richton Park 45.2% 35.2%
Sauk Village 31.7% 23.8%
South Chicago Heights 43.7% 32.5%
South Holland 51.6% 41.7%
Steger 45.7% 36.8%
Tinley Park 67.7% 57.1%
University Park 19.4% 11.7%

Vaccinations are effective against all variants of the Coronavirus, this according to the CDC, the White House, the World Health Organization, Moderna, and  Pfizer-BioNTech. An independent report out of Boston says, “In clinical trials, Moderna’s vaccine reported 94.1% effectiveness at preventing COVID-19 in people who received both doses. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was said to be 95% effective.”

Currently, the 7-day positivity rate in Illinois is 4.6%, up from 0.9% when we surveyed a month ago, according to current COVID-19 statistics. The positivity rate in Cook County is lower than the state average at 3.42% (Substantial Transmission), while the positivity rate for Will County is 5.41% (High Transmission). These rates spiked from a month ago when Will County was at 1% and Cook County was at 0.7%.

Our report on current beds available at regional hospitals is now in a separate article.

As of this date, 2,320 people in Park Forest have tested positive for COVID-19. The number of deceased remains unchanged at 35. (Note: Our benchmark will start again from this point forward as we will no longer track numbers for Cicero which has a much larger population than any other community we track.)

South Chicago Heights still has no recorded deaths from the virus according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. Cook County overall has seen 11,021 people die from coronavirus so far, with the virus claiming 5,383 in Chicago alone.

The combined number of deaths for the towns we now track stands at 971 as of this writing.

Will County has had 78,643 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,043 deaths. Deaths in Illinois currently stand at 23,451.

COVID-19 Statistics at Ludeman Center

According to the state of Illinois, as of August 6, 2021, Ludeman Center in Park Forest has 284 residents who tested positive for COVID-19. Of these, 277 have recovered. These numbers are unchanged from a month ago. A total of 252 staff members at Ludeman have tested positive. Of these, 246 recovered and returned to work. Those numbers did rise from last month’s tally.

Ludeman Center currently employs 919 people and has 328 residents according to the latest figures supplied by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Total Number of Cases of COVID-19 by Town

These hierarchy bubbles show cases, deaths, and cases and deaths per 100,000 population for all communities we track.

The latest number of SARS-CoV-2 cases for the communities we track follow:

Municipality COVID-19 Cases Most Recent Population Figures Rate per 100,000 Population*
Beecher 887 7,860 11,284.99
Calumet City 4,091 36,698 11,147.75
Chicago Heights 4,022 30,276 13,284.45
Country Club Hills 1,791 16,541 10,827.64
Crestwood 1,258 10,950 11,488.58
Crete 1,602 15,787 10,147.59
Dolton 2,394 22,462 10,658.00
East Hazel Crest 117 1,543 7,582.63
Flossmoor 858 9,577 8,958.96
Ford Heights 168 2,763 6,080.35
Frankfort 3,649 19,178 19,027.01
Glenwood 987 8,973 10,999.67
Harvey 2,616 25,282 10,347.28
Hazel Crest 1,463 14,100 10,375.89
Homewood 1,818 20,273 8,967.59
Lansing 3,605 28,745 12,541.31
Lynwood 971 9,007 10,780.50
Markham 1,266 12,341 10,258.49
Matteson 2,218 20,918 10,603.31
Monee 828 10,250 8,078.05
Oak Forest 3,170 26,996 11,742.48
Olympia Fields 382 5,055 7,556.87
Orland Park 6,726 56,582 11,887.17
Park Forest 2,320 22,218 10,441.98
Richton Park 1,350 13,979 9,657.34
Sauk Village 883 10,506 8,404.72
South Chicago Heights 370 4,139 8,939.36
South Holland 2,686 22,560 11,906.03
Steger 934 9,621 9,707.93
Tinley Park 5,436 49,235 11,040.93
University Park 645 6,958 9,269.91
Combined 60,624 543,513 11154.10

Total Deceased from COVID-19 by Town

Municipality Total Deceased Most Recent Population Figures
Rate per 100,000 Population*
Beecher 16 7,779 205.68
Calumet City 29 37,042 78.29
Chicago Heights 72 30,276 237.81
Country Club Hills 59 16,541 356.69
Crestwood 46 10,950 420.09
Crete 15 8,117 184.80
Dolton 39 23,153 168.44
East Hazel Crest 3 1,543 194.43
Flossmoor 16 9,464 169.06
Ford Heights 2 2,763 72.39
Frankfort 11 19,178 57.36
Glenwood 16 8,969 178.39
Harvey 71 25,282 280.83
Hazel Crest 50 14,100 354.61
Homewood 54 19,323 279.46
Lansing 20 28,331 70.59
Lynwood 6 9,007 66.61
Markham 30 12,508 239.85
Matteson 53 19,009 278.82
Monee 11 9,400 117.02
Oak Forest 35 27,962 125.17
Olympia Fields 13 4,988 260.63
Orland Park 105 56,582 185.57
Park Forest 35 21,429 163.33
Richton Park 31 13,646 227.17
Sauk Village 6 10,506 57.11
South Chicago Heights 0 4,139 0.00
South Holland 64 22,030 290.51
Steger 7 9,331 75.02
Tinley Park 61 49,235 123.90
University Park 11 6,958 158.09
Combined 971 531,762 182.60
*Numbers per 100,000 based on most recent population from US Census.gov or derived via formulat using rate per 100,000 population and COVID-19 cases as reported by Cook County.

Do the current batch of approved vaccines protect us from the Delta variant? What is the level of protection? If you can still get infected even after being fully vaccinated, then why should we vaccinate? WHO’s Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan explains in Science in 5. We offer video and audio of the presentation.

State of Illinois COVID-19 Statistics: Most Recent Update

Public Health Officials Announce 16,742 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week

More than 75% of Illinois adults have received at least one vaccine dose and more than 59% are fully vaccinated

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 16,742 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 64 additional deaths since reporting last Friday, July 30, 2021. More than 75% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 59% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,436,353 cases, including 23,503 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since reporting on Friday, July 30, 2021, laboratories have reported 365,210 specimens for a total of 27,188,772.  As of last night, 1,200 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19.  Of those, 246 patients were in the ICU and 121 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.  Hospitalizations with COVID-19 are up 33% from what was reported last week, those in the ICU with COVID-19 are up 47%, and patients on ventilators almost double in just one week at 95%.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 30-August 5, 2021 is 4.6%.  The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from July 30-August 5, 2021 is 5.2%. However, as of August 3, 2021, regional 7-day test positivity averages range from 3.1% to 10.4%. http://www.dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics.

A total of 13,388,013 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight.  The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 25,244 doses.  Since reporting on Friday, July 30, 2021, 176,709 doses were reported administered in Illinois. 

*All data are provisional and will change.  Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19.

Percentages of people vaccinated in towns tracked by Cook County:


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