COVID-19 virus activity in Wisconsin slows

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says amid the lowest number of new cases since the start of the pandemic, the spread of the COVID-19 virus is now considered low in 3 counties: Lincoln, Pepin and Trempealeau. The virus’s activity level is now rated medium in 42 counties and remains high in 27 counties. There are no counties with a “very high” activity level.

According to the latest report from the DHS, more than 5.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered throughout the state to residents and out-of-state residents (such as people who live in other states but work here). A total 2,538,120 Wisconsinites are now fully vaccinated against the disease caused by the coronavirus, or 43.6% of the state’s population. That’s out of 2,842,799 people who received at least one shot of a vaccine, or 48.8%. That’s one-tenth of a percentage point higher than Wednesday and keeps us on track for reaching 50% of the population starting or finishing their vaccinations by the end of the month and, optimistically, as soon as June 22.

COVID-19 deaths are back down to an average 3 per day after the rolling average rose to 4 yesterday. That’s after 10 more deaths were reported to the state, bringing the death toll to 7,200 people. They included one death each in Sheboygan, Waupaca and Waushara counties. Three of the 10 deaths occurred in the last 30 days, the DHS reported. The death rate is at 1.18% of all known cases.

The state says 611,439 people have ever been identified with the coronavirus in Wisconsin. That’s 165 more than the previous report, but the positivity rate -- the percentage of all tests that were positive -- is a low 1.2% over the latest 7-day period. The state is now averaging 129 new cases per day, down from 134 yesterday, by the DHS’s calculations.

There were 51 more hospitalizations for COVID-19 treatment since Wednesday morning. That raised the 7-day average to 49 hospital admissions per day, but that still marks 3 straight days with the average below 50.

Taking deaths and discharges into account, there are 12 fewer people in hospitals than a day ago. Thursday, the Wisconsin Hospital Association said 146 people are hospitalized for COVID-19, with 53 in intensive care. These are the lowest numbers in at least 10 months, as far back as our records go. Hospitals in the Fox Valley saw numbers fall; there are now 7 COVID-19 patients there, and none is in ICU, compared to 9 patients with 2 in ICU a day earlier. Northeast region hospitals have one more patient than Wednesday, with 6 patients in ICU out of 16 overall.

The state’s concern now is getting the vaccination rate back up. Health experts estimate about 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated or infected to develop herd immunity against the coronavirus, and that can change depending on variants of the virus. Health officials say having most of a population vaccinated not only protects people from disease but can prevent dangerous variants from emerging in the first place.

We reported Tuesday the state is restarting the “You Stop the Spread” campaign. The state started the campaign early in the pandemic to promote mitigation efforts such as mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The renewed campaign will emphasize getting vaccinated as a way to protect not only yourself but the people around you, especially children and people with health conditions who can’t get vaccinated.

VACCINATIONS BY COUNTY POPULATION THURSDAY

County (Population) (Health region)	% of population (change from previous report)	Completed % of population (change from previous report)
Brown (264,542) (NE)	48.4% (+0.1)	44.1% (+0.2)
Calumet (50,089) (FV)	43.6% (+0.2)	39.1% (+0.3)
Dodge (87,839)	39.1% (+0.1)	35.4% (+0.2)
Door (27,668) (NE)	64.4% (+0.1)	60.2% (+0.6)
Fond du Lac (103,403) (SE)	41.7% (+0.0)	37.3% (+0.2)
Forest (9,004)	40.9% (+0.2)	38.6% (+0.1)
Florence (4,295) (NE)	42.3% (+0.1)	39.9% (+0.1)
Green Lake (18,913) (FV)	42.4% (+0.3)	38.8% (+0.4)
Kewaunee (20,434) (NE)	39.9% (+0.0)	37.9% (+0.3)
Manitowoc (78,981) (NE)	45.7% (+0.0)	42.0% (+0.1)
Marinette (40,350) (NE)	40.2% (+0.1)	36.9% (+0.1)
Menominee (4,556) (FV)	49.7% (+0.1)	43.9% (+0.1)
Oconto (37,930) (NE)	40.7% (+0.1)	38.2% (+0.2)
Outagamie (187,885) (FV)	47.9% (+0.2)	42.4% (+0.3)
Shawano (40,899) (FV)	35.5% (+0.1)	32.6% (+0.2)
Sheboygan (115,340) (SE)	47.1% (+0.2)	42.4% (+0.3)
Waupaca (50,990) (FV)	40.9% (+0.1)	37.1% (+0.2)
Waushara (24,443) (FV)	33.5% (+0.1)	31.4% (+0.1)
Winnebago (171,907) (FV)	46.2% (+0.1)	41.2% (+0.2)
NORTHEAST REGION (474,200) (NE)	223,665 (47.2%) (+0.2)	205,407 (43.3%) (+0.2)
FOX VALLEY REGION (549,682) (FV)	245,151 (44.6%) (+0.2)	219,309 (39.9%) (+0.2)
WISCONSIN (5,822,434)	2,842,799 (48.8%) (+0.1)	2,538,120 (43.6%) (+0.2)

Vaccinations by age group (and increase since last report)

12-15: 23.3% received a dose (+0.4)/8.9% completed (+1.7)
16-17: 34.2% received a dose (+0.3)/26.7% completed (+0.5)
18-24: 39.5% received a dose (+0.2)/32.9% completed (+0.2)
25-34: 45.2% received a dose (+0.2)/39.1% completed (+0.2)
35-44: 53.4% received a dose (+0.1)/47.3% completed (+0.2)
45-54: 55.4% received a dose (+0.1)/49.6% completed (+0.2)
55-64: 66.1% received a dose (+0.1)/60.4% completed (+0.2)
65+: 83.7% received a dose (+0.0)/79.9% completed (+0.1)

As you can see, 12- to- 15-year-olds are currently leading the pace of vaccinations. The Pfizer vaccine was approved for their age group a little over a month ago. Pfizer is now entering Phase 2 of testing the vaccine with even younger children, ages 5 to 11. Brittany Schmidt of Action 2 News talked with a doctor at U.W. Health about the study that’s using a lower dose of the vaccine.

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.

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

Brown – 31,896 cases (+16) (247 deaths)
Calumet – 5,838 cases (cases revised -1 by state) (51 deaths)
Dickinson (Mich.) - 2,406 cases (59 deaths)
Dodge – 11,988 cases (+3) (172 deaths)
Door – 2,628 cases (+2) (23 deaths)
Florence - 452 cases (13 deaths)
Fond du Lac – 12,592 cases (+5) (122 deaths)
Forest - 964 cases (23 deaths)
Gogebic (Mich.) - 1,042 cases (23 deaths)
Green Lake - 1,612 cases (19 deaths)
Iron (Mich.) – 983 cases (43 deaths)
Kewaunee – 2,367 cases (+2) (27 deaths)
Manitowoc – 7,649 cases (+2) (72 deaths)
Marinette - 4,232 cases (67 deaths)
Menominee (Mich.) - 1,795 cases (+2) (41 deaths)
Menominee – 805 cases (cases revised -1 by state (11 deaths)
Oconto – 4,520 cases (+6) (59 deaths)
Outagamie – 20,833 cases (+3) (221 deaths) (+1)
Shawano – 4,745 cases (+1) (73 deaths)
Sheboygan – 13,868 cases (+9) (147 deaths) (+1)
Waupaca – 4,946 cases (+5) (123 deaths)
Waushara – 2,208 cases (+2) (35 deaths) (+1)
Winnebago – 18,344 cases (+5) (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.