Covid Press Conference by MCHD, August 13th | Decatur, IL | Macon County

Questions for MCHD:

• The week of July 9th, there were 31 new cases. The week of July 23rd, there were 52 new cases. Why did MCHD let another 3 weeks pass without any major mitigation or public messaging efforts, and how will MCHD improve their response to future public health crises?
• Where can we get data regarding:
  • case severity and outcomes, including deaths & long-haul symptoms
  • vaccinated vs unvaccinated hospitalizations
  • age of those hospitalized
• Will you resume daily case updates?
• At what point might MCHD recommend kids stay home and do virtual learning?
• What is our total hospital capacity? How much is taken up by covid patients? How much remains?
• Are you measuring the financial burden created for individuals who have been hospitalized?
• Is MCHD doing any local data collection by working with hospitals and clinics? Or is it all coming from the state/CDC?

Less important Questions

• IDPH reports 214 deaths on August 6th. MCHD reports 209. Why the discrepancy?
• IDPH reports 215 deaths on August 1st. Then 214 on August 2nd. Do you know why the decrease?

Hospital Questions

These are more questions I'd sent to the St. mary's & for which I'm awaiting a reply. They're included on this page for my convenience. I don't think I'll need them for this press conference, but idk.

• Any covid-related deaths?
• How many children have been hospitalized? What ages?
• How many hospitalizations are vaccinated vs unvaccinated?
• How many hospitalizations are severe / require a hopsital stay / require an ICU bed?
• How many hospitalizations are under the age of 50?
• How many hospitalizations show long-haul symptoms?
• How many people admitted to the hospital have been released & how long was their stay?
• What is the financial burden on individuals who have been hospitalized by covid?
• The CDC reports about 18% ICU bed utilization by covid patients. Does this track with the hospital's internal data? How many beds are available/taken by covid patients?
• Is there public access to any covid-related data, directly available to the public from the HSHS?

Thank you, Reed Sutman