Wisconsin Latinos lead in COVID cases
Hispanic community has more per 100,000 than any racial group
There was a sign at the United Community Center in Walker's Point that offers a chance at free tickets to a Milwaukee Bucks game for those signing up to get the coronavirus vaccine.
That sounded good to Shaba Martinez, who works at the center.
She and her husband, Natanael, needed their booster. Their young son, Omar, needed his second shot.
“We figured ‘why not' and we get to enjoy a Bucks game,” Shaba Martinez said. “It's a good deal for all of us.”
The Martinez family went to the Bucks game to get their vaccines and it also was the team's Noche Latina night, celebrating the Latino community in Wisconsin.
“We think it's profoundly important for as many people as possible to be vaccinated to protect the community overall,” Martinez said. “Especially for the Latino community or any minority communities, being vaccinated is helpful especially if you look at the data of how COVID-impacted minority communities over the past few years.”
The UCC has worked to increase the number of vaccinations for residents in the Latino community.
“Most of the work with our families is bilingual. We've had plenty of COVID vaccine clinics throughout our community,” said Martinez, adding the UCC has worked with Hyatt Pharmacy, Aurora and other hospitals to make the vaccine available at their family events. “Which has been really helpful just because it's accessible.”
The vaccination clinic at Fiserv Forum that night was open to all residents, but officials in attendance had hoped the increase in Latino fans at the arena would convince people to get the vaccine.
“It's convenient for families,” Martinez said of staging the clinic during the game. “For us, we haven't had the time to schedule the appointment … so now it (the vaccine) is already where we're going to be so it felt convenient.”
More coronavirus cases per 100,000
Wisconsin's Latino population is roughly 7.3%, or about 426,000 residents. Latinos accounted for 4.6% of the COVID-19 deaths, nearly 650 people statewide, according to the state Department of Health Services. In all, 226 Latinos died from coronavirus in Milwaukee County from 2020 to 2022, when the county stopped tracking deaths from the virus.
Hispanic or Latinx Wisconsin residents have 1.4 times greater COVID-19 case rates, compared to those of white people, according to DHS data. More than 160,000 coronavirus cases have been reported
among Latinos in Wisconsin. That's nearly 38,000 cases per 100,000 Latino residents in the state.
There are more coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the Latino community than any other racial demographic in the state.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra attended the Bucks game and watched people receive the vaccine.
“No community has been hit harder by COVID than the Latino community,” Becerra said. “I haven't seen the latest numbers, but it would not surprise me if relative to community size, Latinos have seen more deaths than any other community (nationwide).”
Becerra said the vaccine is available to everyone “no matter what you're income, no matter you're zip code, no matter you're (immigration) status, you can get vaccinated and it will cost you $0.”
“My mom used to say to me ‘Mejor prevenir que remediar.' It's always better to prevent than to try to remediate,” Becerra said. “The best way to prevent (infection), get vaccinated. You're protected before you ever get sick. If you don't want to prevent it, do you want to take a chance and roll the dice?”
While death is obviously the worst outcome of contracting the disease, Becerra said some people who have survived COVID-19 and are dealing with long-COVID and its “sometimes disabling effects.”
Roughly 216,000 Latinos in Wisconsin of all ages have been fully vaccinated. That's a rate of 509 people per 1,000 who have received all the vaccination doses.
Only Blacks in the state had a lower vaccination rate, at 414 per 1,000 people.
Local health officials have been pushing for more people in the Latino community to get vaccinated.
Kirsten Johnson, secretary-designate of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said the department has seen “fairly good vaccination rates” amongst the Latino community.
“There was clearly some diligence by community organizations and healthcare providers to make sure people had access to getting vaccinated,” Johnson said.
Tyler Weber, interim-City of Milwaukee Health Commissioner, said the city is still working to get people vaccinated like setting up events like the clinic at Fiserv Forum.
“We've had mobile vaccine teams, we've gone to churches, we've gone to a lot of different community events,” Weber said.
Roughly 64,000 Latinos in Milwaukee have received both vaccine shots and 30,444 have had at least one booster.
Weber said the city can have a team to set up a vaccination clinic “within minutes.”
“We've done that, to be on the ground in communities to help boost the vaccine and help create access,” Weber said adding the department has done doorto-door home visits. “It's a multipronged approach working with community leaders within the Latino community to support access and give people the right to have a vaccine when they need it.”