Wisconsin: More than 49% getting vaccinated against COVID-19

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - By the end of next week, Wisconsin could have 50% of its population vaccinated or at least starting the vaccination process.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) says, by Monday, 49.1% of Wisconsinites received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, which is 2,859,160 people -- almost 10,000 more people since the state’s last report on Friday.

Of those, 44.2%, or 2,576,201 Wisconsinites, are fully vaccinated -- which is 25,075 more people since Friday; they received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one shot of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

About one-tenth of one percent of Wisconsin’s population is getting vaccinated every day. Maintaining that pace could put Wisconsin at the 50 percent mark on June 23, though we’ve seen the pace of vaccinations slowing since early April (last week, we reported the optimistic target was June 22). It’s been 184 days since COVID-19 vaccinations began in Wisconsin. By our calculations, Wisconsin is averaging 18,000 vaccinations per day right now compared to more than 29,000 per day a month ago and 62,000 vaccinations per day two months ago. County vaccination numbers are updated later in this article.

Kids continue leading the pace of vaccinations. That stands to reason, since they’re the most-recently eligible of all the age groups to begin getting the vaccine. The percentage of kids 12-to-15 getting their second dose increased 2.5 points since Friday. The percentage of kids 16 and 17 years old being fully vaccinated increased by almost 1 percentage point. By comparison, senior adults were targeted by vaccination efforts early on, and now almost 84% received at least one dose and 80% are fully vaccinated; vaccinations for their age group increased by just one-tenth of one percent over 3 days.

Vaccinations by age group (and increase since last report)

• 12-15: 24.4% received a dose (+0.6)/12.9% completed (+2.5)
• 16-17: 34.7% received a dose (+0.3)/28.0% completed (+0.9)
• 18-24: 39.9% received a dose (+0.3)/33.7% completed (+0.5)
• 25-34: 45.5% received a dose (+0.2)/39.8% completed (+0.5)
• 35-44: 53.8% received a dose (+0.2)/48.0% completed (+0.4)
• 45-54: 55.7% received a dose (+0.2)/50.2% completed (+0.4)
• 55-64: 66.3% received a dose (+0.1)/60.9% completed (+0.3)
• 65+: 83.9% received a dose (+0.1)/80.1% completed (+0.1)

Nationally, the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States is nearing 600,000, comparable to the number who died from all cancers in 2019. The Associated Press reports as more people are getting vaccinated, the Latinos are dying at much younger ages from the disease than other groups, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates Latinos, Blacks and Native Americans are 2 to 3 times more likely than white people to die of the disease (see related story).

In Wisconsin, about half as many Blacks are fully vaccinated as whites, based on their population numbers. Hispanics and American Indians also lag far behind. Only Asians are getting vaccinated at a rate comparable to white Wisconsinites. The DHS recently launched a website highlighting the “unjust and disproportionate impact of COVID-19″ on different ethnic groups, the varied reasons for that, and the state health agency’s effort to address those inequities. CLICK HERE for more information.

Vaccinations by race and ethnicity*

• American Indian: 31.9% received a dose/26.8% completed
• Asian: 47.2% received a dose/39.9% completed
• Black: 25.3% received a dose/21.3% completed
• White: 45.7% received a dose/41.5% completed
  • Hispanic: 34.2% received a dose/28.4% completed
  • Non-Hispanic: 47.2% received a dose/42.7% completed

* 6.5% of records reported race “Unknown” and 5.8% of records did not report ethnicity

The DHS reported only two more deaths from COVID-19 since Friday; neither of them was recent, but one was in Dodge County. Wisconsin’s 7-day average is just 2 deaths per day. Since the first deaths from the coronavirus in March, 2020, a total 7,208 people have died, or 1.18% of all known cases.

Over the last three days, the total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in the state grew by just 185 cases. That includes just 42 cases on Sunday. The DHS says the 7-day average is down to 112 cases per day, compared to 121 on Friday. The positivity rate held steady at an all-time low of 1.1% of all tests.

DHS numbers show 95 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment since Friday morning. That brings the total number of people ever hospitalized for symptoms of the disease to 31,627, or 5% of all cases. According to the Wisconsin Hospital Association, there were 125 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, with 39 in ICU. That’s 18 fewer patients than Friday, including 15 fewer in intensive care. These numbers continue to fall to the lowest in WHA records going back to April, 2020.

In the Fox Valley, there are just 3 COVID-19 patients among the region’s 13 hospitals; that’s half as many COVID-19 patients as Sunday, and none is in ICU. The 10 hospitals in the Northeast emergency readiness region have 15 COVID-19 patients, including 5 in ICU; that’s 1 fewer patient in intensive care and 3 fewer overall.

VACCINATIONS BY COUNTY POPULATION MONDAY

State health officials are promoting the CDC’s Vaccine Finder website to make it easier to find and schedule appointments near you. You can also CLICK HERE for the First Alert Vaccine Team’s guide to vaccine clinics and vaccinators, including phone numbers and websites to make appointments and information on free rides to appointments.

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

• Brown – 31,911 cases (+9) (249 deaths)
• Calumet – 5,840 cases (+2) (51 deaths)
• Dickinson (Mich.) - 2,408 cases (+2) (59 deaths)
• Dodge – 11,990 cases (+1) (173 deaths) (+1)
• Door – 2,631 cases (23 deaths)
• Florence - 452 cases (13 deaths)
• Fond du Lac – 12,596 cases (+4) (122 deaths)
• Forest - 965 cases (+1) (23 deaths)
• Gogebic (Mich.) - 1,043 cases (23 deaths)
• Green Lake - 1,614 cases (+1) (19 deaths)
• Iron (Mich.) – 983 cases (43 deaths)
• Kewaunee – 2,369 cases (+1) (27 deaths)
• Manitowoc – 7,650 cases (72 deaths)
• Marinette - 4,233 cases (+1) (67 deaths)
• Menominee (Mich.) - 1,794 cases (41 deaths)
• Menominee – 805 cases (11 deaths)
• Oconto – 4,529 cases (+6) (59 deaths)
• Outagamie – 20,839 cases (+7) (221 deaths)
• Shawano – 4,746 cases (+1) (73 deaths)
• Sheboygan – 13,874 cases (+4) (147 deaths)
• Waupaca – 4,948 cases (123 deaths)
• Waushara – 2,212 cases (35 deaths)
• Winnebago – 18,351 cases (+3) (200 deaths)

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Wisconsin Hospital Association no longer report updates on weekends. The Michigan Department of Health does not report on Sundays.

** Cases and deaths are from state 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.

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