Wisconsin reports 689 cases, 13 deaths
Nearly 470K are fully vaccinated against virus
Nearly 470,000 Wisconsinites have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, the state health department reported Saturday.
So far this week, 195,787 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered in Wisconsin, with 40,585 shots given on Friday, according to the state Department of Health Services.
More than 1.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since December, DHS reported. More than 888,000 Wisconsin residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, which is about 15% of the state’s population of people 16 and older. The vaccine is not yet authorized for children under 16.
More than half of Wisconsinites age 65 and older have received at least one shot, according to DHS. About 210,700 residents 65 and older are fully vaccinated, according to DHS.
New cases reported: 689
New deaths reported: 13
Number hospitalized (as of Friday): 304 (intensive care: 89); down 442 patients from one month ago
Seven-day average of daily cases: 617 (down 900 cases from one month ago)
Seven-day average of daily deaths: 18 (down 14 from one month ago)
Seven-day average positivity rate (as a share of all tests given): 2.3%
Total cases since the start of pandemic: 563,496 (8,041 active cases)
Total deaths: 6,412
Key takeaways
People in the state’s next vaccination phase will be eligible to start receiving their shots on Monday. According to DHS, those included in the next group are, in order of priority: Education and child care staff People enrolled in Medicaid longterm care programs, such as IRIS and Family Care
Public-facing essential workers, such as 911 operators, public transit workers, utility workers and food supply chain workers, including agricultural workers and retail food workers
Non-frontline essential health care personnel
Facility staff and residents in congregate living settings, such as mental health institutions and prisons and jails
Anyone who was eligible in the first vaccination phase and has not yet received a vaccination can still get one. State health officials said vaccinators should continue to prioritize vaccinating those ages 65 and older.
“This means individuals in newly eligible groups should not expect to get the vaccine right away,” according to the DHS website. “It will take time to get to everyone in priority order.”
Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration after a government advisory committee voted on Friday to recommend authorizing the company’s vaccine for use in adults.
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine would be the third approved in the United States, joining Moderna and PfizerBioNTech.
While Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine only requires one shot, the company’s trial showed the shot is less effective than the two currently available in the U.S.
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was shown to be 72% effective in the United States and substantially less effective in South Africa and Latin America, where two variants — which have now arrived in the United States — were spreading, USA TODAY reported.
Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s vaccines were shown to be more than 94% effective last year when they were tested, though the arrival of the variants is also expected to reduce their effectiveness somewhat, according to USA TODAY.
USA TODAY contributed to this report.