Evanston COVID-19 positivity rate sees almost 2 percentage point reduction
Daily file illustration by Olivia Abeyta
While Evanston COVID-19 positive numbers had been rising amid the omicron variant, both the positivity rate and the number of positive cases have dropped in the last week.
January 21, 2022
Evanston saw an almost two percentage point decrease in its seven-day moving average positivity rate this week compared to last.
The average seven-day positivity rate among residents decreased to 4.16% compared to last week’s 6.02%, a declining trend for the last month. The seven-day average test positivity rate this week in Illinois has also declined to 14.8% this week — a 1.4 percentage point decrease from last week. In Cook County, the test positivity is 13.4% this week.
Evanston now experiences a one-day delay in reporting COVID-19 case data after contact tracing efforts shifted from the city level to the state level on Thursday.
Taking this into account, the reported number of positive cases over the last seven days includes 273 cases reported Jan. 13 — a record high in positive case numbers for the city. This figure was also reported in the seven-day cases count last week.
When looking only at the last six days, excluding the double-counted Jan. 13, this week had a 250 positive case reduction compared to the six days prior. The double-counting made Evanston’s positive case count appear higher than they are.
Continuing to examine positive cases in a six day period, the average number of positive cases reported per day this week was about 78 compared to last week’s six-day average of approximately 119.
As of Thursday, 95.4% of Evanston residents ages 5 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which represents a 0.8 percentage point increase from last week — the same increase as the previous week. 85.3% of residents in that age group are fully vaccinated.
In Illinois, 79.2% of individuals ages 5 and older have received at least one dose — an almost 1% increase from last week — and 69.6% are fully vaccinated. In Cook County, these percentages are 76.3% and 68.3%, respectively.
Individuals 12 years and older who completed their Pfizer primary series vaccination at least five months ago are eligible for a booster shot. Those ages 18 and older who received the Moderna primary series vaccination at least five months ago are also eligible.
Residents ages 18 and older can “mix-and-match” their booster shot, allowing them to receive a different vaccine type as authorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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