This page is no longer maintained & is kept for archival purposes only.

July 30th COVID Pamphlet | Decatur, IL

Covid cases are spiking. Delta is here. 60,000 people are NOT vaccinated.

A stock photo of covid 19 virus with a slightly transparent background, covering up the Decatur Transfer House in Central Park.
Last major update July 31, 2021 by Reed Sutman [See all COVID information](/old-covid-pages/)

Notice: Get current information on our main covid page. I don't think this page will receive further updates.

Notice: There is constantly new information about covid. New studies. New case counts. Data corrections. There's a lot of information to keep up with. I have more studying to do, too. I'd like to learn and share more about vaccines & other COVID things, but I have been too busy with other efforts to inform civilians and encourage City Council to take action.

Correction: The pamphlet says there were 73 new cases on July 30th. This was preliminary data from IDPH. The actual number is 91, as reported by the Macon County Health Department. Ninety-one new cases in a single week.

Addition: MCHD reported five NEW delta cases from Tues July 27th through Friday July 30th. Previously, we had 4 new delta cases between July 9th & July 27th. Delta's here & it's spreading.

Citations: This page has a lot of information. You can also view our pamphlet citations page to just see sourcces for our pamphlet.

These minor additions above were added on August 3, 2021 by Reed Sutman

What is the city doing?

Nothing.
I've emailed city manager Scot Wrighton, I've talked with Angela in the Mayor's office. Both pointed at the state and the fed and rejected the city's responsibility to care for its citizens. I spoke with Council People David Horn & Bill Faber, who both support the city taking action. Both doubted that action would be taken this monday by majority of council.

Monday's City Council meeting agenda does not even mention covid.

Quick Access

I want to help make our community safe

Wear a mask even if you're vaccinated

And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
The delta variant still spreads very easily, even if you're fully vaccinated. (see Delta Variant toward the end of this page). The vaccine still GREATLY reduces your risk of severe illness and death. It also reduces your risk of getting covid 3-fold.

Advocate with the city

The city council is responsible for COVID actions taken locally. They have the authority to take action. But Mayor Wolfe, Chuck Kuhle, Lisa Gregory, and Ed Culp are likely reluctant to enact safety measures. These are the people to talk to. Most likely, they'll deflect responsibility to the state & fed.

  • Contact City Council, ask what is being done & what legally CAN be done.
    • Or call City Administration at 1-217-424-2801
    • Or contact the health department and ask what action they're recommending the city take.
    • Or contact friends or family who own businesses, work in city government, in media, or otherwise have positions of influence & ask them to do internal advocacy.

Where should I get vaccinated?

Most stores, pharmacies, and several popup clinics throughout town are providing testing & vaccinations. Off the top of my head, I remember:

Get other people vaccinated

  • Work within your circle. Ask people close to you if they're vaccinated, what their concerns are, and what would convince them to get the vaccine. Be patient, be understanding, be kind. People's concerns are valid. Its your job to work with them, from where they are, because you want them to be safe and alive and informed.
  • Help us distribute COVID literature. Contact me or look at our events page.

Local COVID data

Covid Trend since June 4th.

You can see that our case count is trending upward since July 9th. These are only reported cases, so actual case count may be higher.

  • July 30th Covid: 73 new cases, 1 new death
  • July 23rd COVID update: 52 new cases, 3 hospitalized, 1 death
  • July 16th COVID update: 22 new cases, 3 hospitalized, 1 death
  • July 9th COVID update: 31 new cases, 3 hospitalized, 1 death
  • July 2nd COVID update: 18 new cases, 4 hospitalized
  • June 25th COVID update: 7 new cases, 1 hospitalized, 1 death
  • June 18th COVID update: 17 new cases, 2 hospitalized
  • June 11th COVID update: 4 new cases, 5 hospitalized
  • June 4th COVID update: 1 new case, 8 hospitalized See our july covid update for more information & sources.

Covid Variants found locally

Variants of concern include: B.1.1.7 (UK/Aplha), B.1.351 (South Africa/Beta), B.1.617.2 (Delta), and P.1 (Brazil/Gamma). It seems Delta is of the greatest concern among these.

The county health department report reports the following variant strains as of July 27th: (note these are only reported cases, so actual case count is likely higher)

  • 143 cases of B.1.1.7 (UK variant) (2 new since Jul 9)
  • 84 cases of P.1 (Brazil/Gamma variant)
  • 6 cases of B.1.429 (California variant)
  • 5 cases of B.1.617.2 (Delta variant) (4 new since Jul 9)
  • 4 cases of B.1.351 (South Africa variant)
  • 3 cases of P.1.1 (Brazil/Gamma variant) (3 new since Jul 9)
  • 1 case of B.1.427 (California variant)

Vaccination Rate in Macon County

From IDPH on July 30, 2021

  • Population of 104,712
  • 40,773 vaccinated people
  • 63,939 NOT vaccinated. Not safe.
  • 15,000 children under age 12 who cannot be vaccinated.

Statewide Deaths from Covid

The majority of deaths are those age 60+, though a lot of other people have died. The majority of cases are under age 60. So young people are likely getting sick indescriminately, spreading it to older people, and killing them.

  • IDHP reports statewide deaths being 23,440 people, with these age demographics:
    • Age 20 or less: 21 deaths
    • Age 20-29: 83 deaths
    • Age 30-39: 283 deaths
    • Age 40-49: 709 deaths
    • Age 50-59: 1,749 deaths
    • Age 60-69: 3,863 deaths
    • Age 70-79: 5,818 deaths
    • Age 80+: 10,914 deaths
  • IDHP reports on Statewide vaccination data
    • 644 hospitalizations among fully vaccinated folks.
    • 169 deaths among fully vaccinated folks since January 1, 2021. (I have not found any demographic data regarding these deaths).
      • 2.44% of all covid deaths since January 1.

General COVID information

Covid Illness and long term effects

According to Mayo Clinic:

  • 'some people — even those who had mild versions of the disease — continue to experience symptoms after their initial recovery.'
  • Common symptoms that linger over time:
    • Loss of taste and smell
    • Fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain, chest pain, muscle pain, headache
    • memory problems, concentration, & sleep problems
    • Depression or Anxiety, dizziness when standing, and more
  • 'Heart. Imaging tests taken months after recovery from COVID-19 have shown lasting damage to the heart muscle, even in people who experienced only mild COVID-19 symptoms. This may increase the risk of heart failure or other heart complications in the future.'
  • 'Lungs. The type of pneumonia often associated with COVID-19 can cause long-standing damage to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. The resulting scar tissue can lead to long-term breathing problems.'
  • 'Brain. Even in young people, COVID-19 can cause strokes, seizures and Guillain-Barre syndrome — a condition that causes temporary paralysis. COVID-19 may also increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.'
  • 'Many long-term COVID-19 effects still unknown'

According to the CDC

  • 'Even people who did not have COVID-19 symptoms in the days or weeks after they were infected can have post-COVID conditions.'
  • Basically what the Mayo clinic says

Vaccine Resistance

CNN reported on an internal CDC document, which states that if you are vaccinated:

  • You're 3 times less likely to contract COVID
  • You're 10 times less likely to get severely ill or die
  • You may still shed the virus at the same rate, posing a huge risk to our community and your loved ones
  • If you are infected, you may not have symptoms, or may have very mild symptoms

According to Illinois Department of Public Health, "preliminary evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people who do become infected with the Delta variant can spread the virus to others. To reduce their risk of becoming infected with the Delta variant and potentially spreading it to others: CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people:" (bullet points paraphrased)

  • Wear a mask in public indoor settings and when around at-risk individuals (heart condition, diabetes, unhealthy weight, certain other conditions)
  • Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
  • Get tested 3-5 days following a known exposure
  • Isolate if you test postive

Children at risk

  • About 15,000 kids in Macon County, under 12 years old cannot be vaccinated.
  • khn reports that "Children and adolescents tend to have milder disease compared to adults", but children can still transmit the disease.
  • The CDC reports:
    • "Some children can get severely ill from COVID-19. They might require hospitalization, intensive care, or a ventilator to help them breathe. In rare cases, they might die."
    • "Babies under 1 year old and children with certain underlying conditions may be more likely to have severe illness from COVID-19.". "underlying condtions" like asthma, diabetes, sickle cell, heart disease, obesity, and more.

The Delta Variant

In a CNN Article on the delta variant:

  • CDC Director (Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH)[https://www.cdc.gov/about/leadership/director.html) 'confirmed the authenticity of the document'
  • "The CDC presentation says the Delta variant is about as transmissible as chickenpox, with each infected person, on average, infecting eight or nine others. The original lineage was about as transmissible as the common cold, with each infected person passing the virus to about two other people on average." says
  • Dr. Walter Orenstein of Emory Vaccine Center (who viewed the internal documents) is quoted: "The bottom line was that, in contrast to the other variants, vaccinated people, even if they didn't get sick, got infected and shed virus at similar levels as unvaccinated people who got infected,"
  • "Vaccines prevent more than 90% of severe disease, but may be less effective at preventing infection or transmission," [the internal document] reads. ... It says vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease or death 10-fold and reduce the risk of infection three-fold.
  • "The presentation also cites three reports that indicate the Delta variant -- originally known as B.1.617.2 -- might cause more severe disease."
  • It recommends vaccine mandates and universal mask requirements.

Read a Mayo clinic article on the delta varaiant

What it's like to die from COVID

Reporting from a Vox Article:

  • '“If your mom or dad or spouse was in the hospital and was very sick, you would be at their bedside holding their hand,” Remy says. With fatal Covid-19, your last meaningful contact with family, before your final hours, might be as you get admitted into the ER, days or weeks before.'
  • Most Covid deaths are in the hospital, isolated from your loved ones. Only about 6% of people die from COVID at home. 10% in long term care facilities.
  • 'Imagine trying to breathe through a very narrow straw, says Jess Mandel, chief of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine at UC San Diego Health. “You can do that for 15 to 20 seconds, but try doing it for two hours.” Or for days or weeks. '
  • 'Or like a thousand bees stinging them inside their chest. Others might have thick secretions in their lungs that make it feel like they are trying to breathe through muck. Many people say it feels like they’re being smothered. '
  • '“You hear the patients say, ‘I just want to die because this is so excruciating,’” Remy says. “That’s what this virus does.” '
  • '“A lot of patients have told me how isolating and how lonely it is,” Thi says. And many get depressed.'
  • 'All of these challenges have a cumulative effect. “If you can understand being in the hospital for two, three weeks, continuously breathing that fast, not having good interactions with your family because they can’t come and visit you — it’s extremely anxiety-provoking. It’s scary,” Remy says.'
  • 'One reason for this extra risk [of delirium] is that the only people patients see are covered in head-to-toe PPE, often with only their eye area visible behind a shield or goggles, rendering them even more anonymous and unfamiliar.'

Other Information

The Measles Vaccine

The success of the measles vaccine is what I want to see with the COVID vaccine.

From the World Health Organization:

  • in 2018, there were more than 140 000 measles deaths globally, mostly among children under the age of five.
  • Measles vaccination resulted in a 73% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2018 worldwide
  • In 2018, about 86% of the world's children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services – up from 72% in 2000.
  • During 2000-2018, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 23.2 million deaths making measles vaccine one of the best buys in public health.

Questions, concerns, more information

Wondering about the safety of the vaccine? The necessity? Questions about variant strains?

Links