Almost half a million inoculated against COVID-19 in Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) – Wisconsin didn’t add any deaths to COVID-19′s death toll for a second day in a row Monday and reported the fewest new coronavirus cases since August 31.

On top of this news, almost half a million people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Wisconsin, according to new figures Monday. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says 492,074 people received both shots of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. That’s 8.5% of the state’s population.

In all, more than 900,000 people (912,429) have received at least one shot, including more than half (54.4%) of older adults ages 65 and up, and more than 11% of adults 35 to 64. These numbers are preliminary for a few days as vaccinators’ reports continue to come in, so they’re likely even higher.

And these numbers might surge soon with more doses coming to the state and more people eligible for a vaccine as of Monday, March 1:

Education and childcare: Includes preschool to grade 12, higher education, community learning programs, and Boys & Girls Club and YMCA staff members
People enrolled in Medicaid long-term care programs, such as Family Care and IRIS
Some public-facing frontline workers, including public transit and people responsible for utility and communications infrastructure
911 operators
Workers in the food supply chain: Farms; production plants; food retail, which includes supermarkets and convenience stores selling groceries; and hunger relief distribution
Congregate living: Residents and staff of domestic abuse and homeless shelters; housing for the elderly or people with disabilities; prisons and jails; mental health facilities; some employer-based housing
Non-frontline essential health care: Emergency management; cyber security; critical support roles such as cleaning, HVAC and refrigeration; critical supply chain, such as production and distribution of vaccine

This is not an all-inclusive list. State health officials say older adults are still their priority, and when these groups can get vaccinated will depend on local supply. The Oconto County Health Department, for one, says it won’t vaccinate the expanded group until the week of March 15 or when 50% of older adults in the county are vaccinated, whichever comes later, because it doesn’t have an adequate supply of vaccine. The Fond du Lac County Health Department says it will start vaccinating educators and child care workers but doesn’t anticipate getting to the other groups until April or May.

The state’s supply will be helped somewhat by a third vaccine receiving FDA approval last weekend. The White House says the 4 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine manufactured so far are being distributed to states right now (see related story). Monday afternoon, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said 47,000 doses should arrive next week in the state’s first allocation. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose whereas the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine require two doses 3 or 4 weeks apart.

Since December 13, Wisconsin vaccinators have administered 1,408,883 doses to residents and 27,567 doses to non-residents, such as people from neighboring states who work in Wisconsin health care and nursing home facilities.

Action 2 News continues updating its guide to vaccination clinics and health agencies distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. CLICK HERE for locations and phone numbers and websites to register.

The death toll from the COVID-19 virus remains at 6,412 for a third day after the state didn’t include any deaths Sunday or Monday. Wisconsin’s 7-day average is still 18 deaths per day and the death rate was steady at 1.14% of all cases. After the state’s report, the Appleton city health department reported the death of a person in their 60s in Outagamie County; this will be added to the state’s total in the coming days.

The total number of coronavirus cases rose to 564,268 with the addition of 308 patients. That was about 10% (9.83%) of the 3,134 results the state received for people being tested for the first time or testing positive. That’s the lowest number of new cases in six months. Keep in mind, the state typically has low figures on Sundays and Mondays due to the weekend. The state is averaging 610 new cases a day over the last 7 days.

If you look at all of the test results, including people who’ve been tested multiple times, the 7-day average positivity rate is 2.2%, the lowest since last March.

Thirty-two of Wisconsin’s 72 counties did not report any new cases or had their total revised downward. Thirteen of the 40 counties with new cases reported only 1 or 2.

More than 550,000 (550,280) people who tested positive for the coronavirus are considered recovered, meaning they were diagnosed or detected symptoms more than 30 days ago, even if they have lingering effects from their infection. This is 97.5% of all cases. Fewer than 7,500 people (7,417) are considered active cases right now (1.3%).

County by county case and death figures are listed later in this article.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

The DHS says 31 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 in the past 24-hour period, well below the 7-day average of 55 hospitalizations per day. Over the last year, 26,158 people have been hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment at some point, or 4.6% of all cases.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) found 287 people with COVID-19 hospitalized Monday across the state, 3 fewer than Sunday and the fewest in hospitals at one time since September 6. About a quarter of these, 73 patients, were in ICU, the same as Sunday.

Locally, there are 12 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the Fox Valley region, including 3 in ICU. That’s one more in ICU than Sunday but 3 fewer patients overall.

The Northeast region’s 10 hospitals were treating 32 patients, with 11 in ICU. That’s 1 less patient in ICU, but the total number of COVID-19 patients in Northeast hospitals was the same as Sunday.

HOSPITAL READINESS

In terms of hospital readiness, the WHA reported 375 ICU beds (25.6%) and 2,143 of all medical beds (19.2%) -- ICU, intermediate care, medical surgical and negative flow isolation beds -- were open in the state’s 134 hospitals on Monday.

The Fox Valley’s 13 hospitals had 42 open ICU beds (20.3%) among them and 119 of all medical beds (14.0%) open for the eight counties they serve.

In the Northeast region, the hospitals have 42 ICU beds (20.28%) and 254 of all medical beds (29.7%) available.

These are beds for all patients, not just COVID-19, and because a bed is open or available doesn’t mean a hospital can put a patient in it if there isn’t enough staffing, including doctors, nurses and food services.

MONDAY’S COUNTY CASE AND DEATH TOTALS (Counties with new cases or deaths are indicated in bold) *

Wisconsin

Adams – 1,581 cases (+3) (10 deaths)
Ashland – 1,174 cases (16 deaths) (cases revised -1 by state)
Barron – 5,367 cases (+5) (76 deaths)
Bayfield - 1,066 cases (+1) (19 deaths)
Brown – 30,192 cases (+4) (223 deaths)
Buffalo – 1,319 cases (7 deaths)
Burnett – 1,206 cases (+1) (23 deaths)
Calumet – 5,473 cases (+3) (43 deaths)
Chippewa – 7,044 cases (+1) (92 deaths)
Clark – 3,155 cases (57 deaths)
Columbia – 5,042 cases (+11) (51 deaths)
Crawford – 1,668 cases (17 deaths)
Dane – 40,571 (+54) (273 deaths)
Dodge – 11,417 cases (+6) (155 deaths)
Door – 2,418 cases (20 deaths)
Douglas – 3,675 cases (+1) (26 deaths)
Dunn – 4,264 cases (+2) (28 deaths)
Eau Claire – 11,009 cases (104 deaths)
Florence - 434 cases (12 deaths)
Fond du Lac – 11,984 cases (+2) (93 deaths)
Forest - 925 cases (23 deaths)
Grant – 4,651 cases (+3) (80 deaths)
Green – 3,147 cases (16 deaths)
Green Lake - 1,525 cases (18 deaths)
Iowa - 1,858 cases (+5) (9 deaths)
Iron - 541 cases (20 deaths)
Jackson - 2,575 cases (23 deaths)
Jefferson – 7,877 cases (+7) (111 deaths)
Juneau - 2,984 cases (+2) (19 deaths)
Kenosha – 14,824 cases (+1) (300 deaths)
Kewaunee – 2,414 cases (27 deaths)
La Crosse – 12,232 cases (+2) (78 deaths)
Lafayette - 1,463 cases (+4) (7 deaths)
Langlade - 1,934 cases (32 deaths)
Lincoln – 2,909 cases (58 deaths)
Manitowoc – 7,239 cases (64 deaths)
Marathon – 13,692 cases (+11) (176 deaths)
Marinette - 3,981 cases (63 deaths)
Marquette – 1,307 cases (21 deaths)
Menominee - 795 cases (11 deaths)
Milwaukee – 98,259 (+43) (1,237 deaths)
Monroe – 4,318 cases (31 deaths)
Oconto – 4,263 cases (48 deaths)
Oneida - 3,381 cases (+3) (67 deaths)
Outagamie – 19,287 cases (+16) (195 deaths)
Ozaukee – 7,633 cases (+4) (77 deaths)
Pepin – 806 cases (7 deaths) (cases revised -1 by state)
Pierce – 3,477 cases (+1) (33 deaths)
Polk – 3,927 cases (+4) (44 deaths)
Portage – 6,477 cases (64 deaths)
Price – 1,157 cases (7 deaths)
Racine – 20,347 cases (320 deaths)
Richland - 1,288 cases (+1) (14 deaths)
Rock – 14,405 cases (+3) (159 deaths)
Rusk - 1,253 cases (16 deaths)
Sauk – 5,287 cases (+2) (41 deaths)
Sawyer - 1,517 cases (+3) (21 deaths)
Shawano – 4,593 cases (70 deaths)
Sheboygan – 12,914 cases (+18) (128 deaths)
St. Croix – 6,394 cases (+13) (43 deaths)
Taylor - 1,800 cases (+1) (21 deaths)
Trempealeau – 3,393 cases (+7) (36 deaths)
Vernon – 1,831 cases (36 deaths)
Vilas - 2,140 cases (+4) (36 deaths)
Walworth – 8,837 cases (127 deaths)
Washburn – 1,295 cases (18 deaths)
Washington – 13,753 cases (+7) (134 deaths)
Waukesha – 40,653 cases (+28) (482 deaths)
Waupaca – 4,792 cases (+10) (112 deaths)
Waushara – 2,098 cases (31 deaths)
Winnebago – 17,060 cases (+14) (183 deaths)
Wood – 6,701 cases (+3) (73 deaths)

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (reflects Saturday-Monday updates) **

Alger - 277 cases (1 death)
Baraga - 507 cases (32 deaths)
Chippewa - 722 cases (23 deaths)
Delta – 2,664 cases (+10) (65 deaths)
Dickinson - 2,131 cases (55 deaths)
Gogebic - 929 cases (+1) (20 deaths) (+1)
Houghton – 2,131 cases (+4) (33 deaths)
Iron – 866 cases (40 deaths)
Keweenaw – 115 cases (1 death)
Luce – 132 cases
Mackinac - 290 cases (3 deaths)
Marquette - 3,456 cases (+0) (55 deaths) (+1)
Menominee - 1,617 cases (+1) (35 deaths)
Ontonagon – 358 cases (19 deaths)
Schoolcraft - 229 cases (4 deaths)

* Cases and deaths are from the daily DHS COVID-19 reports, which may differ from local health department numbers. The DHS reports cases from all health departments within a county’s boundaries, including tribal, municipal and county health departments; county websites may not. Also, public health departments update their data at various times, whereas the DHS freezes the numbers it receives by the same time every day to compile the afternoon report.

The DHS reports deaths attributed to COVID-19 or in which COVID-19 contributed to their death. Most of the people severely affected by the coronavirus have underlying illnesses or conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity, which raises a person’s risk of dying from COVID-19. They would’ve lived longer if not for their infection. The state may revise case and death numbers after further review, such as the victim’s residence, duplicated records, or a correction in lab results. Details can be found on the DHS website and Frequently Asked Questions.

**The state of Michigan does not update numbers on Sundays. Monday’s numbers include updates since Saturday’s reporting deadline.

COVID-19 Tracing App

Wisconsin’s COVID-19 tracing app, “Wisconsin Exposure Notification,” is available for iOS and Android smartphones. No download is required for iPhones. The Android app is available on Google Play. When two phones with the app (and presumably their owners) are close enough, for long enough, they’ll anonymously share a random string of numbers via Bluetooth. If someone tests positive for the coronavirus, they’ll receive a code to type into the app. If your phones “pinged” each other in the last 14 days, you’ll receive a push notification that you are at risk of exposure. The app doesn’t collect personal information or location information, so you won’t know from whom or where, but you will be told what day the exposure might have occurred so that you can quarantine for the appropriate amount of time.

Symptoms

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified these as possible symptoms of COVID-19:

Fever of 100.4 or higher
Cough
Shortness of breath
Chills
Repeated shaking with chills
Muscle pain
Headache
Sore throat
New loss of taste or smell

Prevention

Nobody has a natural immunity to the coronavirus. Children and teens seem to recover best from the virus. Older people and those with underlying health conditions (heart disease, diabetes, lung disease) are considered at high risk, according to the CDC. Precautions are also needed around people with developing or weakened immune systems. To help prevent the spread of the virus:

Wear a face mask in public
Stay at least six feet away from people from outside your household
Avoid close contact with people who are or appear sick
Stay at home as much as possible
Don’t go to work if you feel sick
Cancel events and avoid groups, gatherings, play dates and non-essential appointments